Officials scrubbed a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload launch from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., on Tuesday due to a “range instrumentation outage.” The 45th Space Wing “range experienced an issue with a mandatory range asset needed to support the launch,” said United Launched Alliance in a March 24 update. “The Atlas V and NROL-67 spacecraft have been secured” and the launch is being delayed “to no earlier than Wednesday,” ULA added. “Personnel are currently assessing the situation and working to identify the extent of repairs needed,” 45th SW officials stated in a Facebook update. There have been 68 consecutive successful national security launches and 98 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle launches to date, Air Force Space Command officials told the Daily Report. The next scheduled launch is a weather satellite slated to blast off from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., April 3.
The Air Force is planning to invest nearly $1.7 billion to continue modernizing the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers over the next five years, revising earlier plans to retire those aircraft before the B-21 Raider is fielded in bulk.