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Air Force Sends Spy Satellite Into Space
By Associated Press
posted: 10:31 am ET
02 December 2003
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- An Atlas rocket carrying a spy satellite thundered into space before dawn Tuesday from this military base along the central California coast, Air Force officials reported. The satellite built by the National Reconnaissance Office successfully separated from the rocket 74 minutes after the 2:04 a.m. launch, according to a recorded message left on the base's launch update/rumor control line. The successful liftoff marked the final West Coast launch of a Lockheed Martin Atlas International Launch Services rocket. Military and Lockheed Martin officials will now begin refurbishing the base's Launch Complex 3 East to accommodate a newer generation of rockets called the Atlas V. One more launch of an Atlas ILS is scheduled from Cape Canaveral, Fla., later this month. Military officials released few details about the satellite, whose mission they said was national security. A video of its launch showed the rocket appearing as a huge star as it headed through the clear but dark sky over the Pacific Ocean toward space.
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