A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Wednesday carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload into space, according to Air Force and industry officials. The launch occurred at 11:03 a.m. local time from Space Launch Complex-6, according to the 30th Space Wing’s Facebook page. The Aug. 28 mission, designated NROL-65, was in support of national defense. This was the second-ever Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg, said the officials The first took place in January 2011. (See also ULA release.)
The Air Force wants more companies able to produce its new, multi-use, anti-radar missile that one expert says will prove vital in any future peer conflict and would be in high demand for the war in Iran if stocks were available now.