An unarmed Minuteman III ICBM lifted off from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., en route to the Kwajalein test range in the central Pacific during a routine test of the accuracy and reliability of the Minuteman weapon system, announced officials with the base’s 30th Space Wing. The Feb. 25 mission “proceeded as planned,” they said.
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
