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US Air Force Test-launches Minuteman Missile from California

by Associated Press

   VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. --

   The Air Force says an unarmed Minuteman 3 missile has been launched
   from California's central coast in the latest test of the
   intercontinental system.

   The missile blasted off at 11:39 p.m. PDT Wednesday from Vandenberg Air
   Force Base northwest of Los Angeles.
   The Air Force says the missile carried test re-entry vehicles that
   headed for a target area 4,200 miles away to the Kwajalein Atoll in the
   Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
   The Air Force routinely uses Vandenberg to test Minuteman missiles from
   bases around the country.
   This test involved personnel from Vandenberg's 576th Flight Test
   Squadron and the 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.