An operational test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled to take place early Wednesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, marking the fourth of the year.
Liftoff of the three-stage weapon with at least one mock warhead from an underground silo on North Base will occur between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m.
“The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to provide reliability and accuracy information as they are conducted to test the entire intercontinental ballistic missile system,” according to Air Force Global Strike Command.
Upon launch, the military will track the weapon as it travels to a predetermined target, typically some 4,200 miles away near the Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean.
Missile tests typically target blastoff at the opening of a six-hour window, with the extra time allowed in case technical troubles or unfavorable weather at Vandenberg or downrange cause delays for departure.
The Air Force has some 400 missiles positioned near Minot AFB, North Dakota; Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.
Vandenberg conducts several missile tests each year to collect data about the weapon system.
Other missile tests this year occurred in early February, early August and early September.
This is the first of at least two launches planned from the base in two weeks.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a NASA scientific satellite is targeting departure at approximately 11:30 a.m. Nov. 10 from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base.
Space Exploration Technologies also plans to return the used first-stage booster to a landing site at Vandenberg.
The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is a joint U.S.-European mission to collect data about sea levels around the globe.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.