Vandenberg Air Force Base officials announced Wednesday that an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile launched successfully during a test just before 6:30 a.m.

The Minuteman III was launched during an operational test from Launch Facility-4 on north Vandenberg.

The launch originally had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was rescheduled because of a range safety instrumentation issue.

“I am proud of our team,” said Col. Brent McArthur, 30th Space Wing vice commander and the launch decision authority. “Because of their professionalism, discipline and intense focus on mission assurance, we saw a safe and successful launch this morning.”

The missile’s unarmed vehicle was expected to travel approximately 4,190 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, according to Air Force Global Strike Command.

The test is meant to assist the U.S. Air Force in sustaining and modernizing the Minuteman III through 2030, as well as testing its readiness and accuracy.

“These tests provide us the opportunity to demonstrate the readiness of the ICBM force,” said Col. Richard Pagliuco, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander said earlier this week. “Every test provides valuable data regarding the accuracy and reliability of the weapon system.”

The U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Energy will use the data recovered from the launch.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.