Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast hoisted NASA’s InSight Mars lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Monday, kicking off nearly two weeks of integrated tests and checkouts before the probe’s interplanetary launch window opens May 5. The launch, which began at 5:26 a.m. PDT, sent an unarmed Minuteman III missile from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base to an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean. The Air Force says the test – the first since last August after a February launch was postponed – was aimed at verifying the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the system.
The United States Air Force tests a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The missile test is considered to be successful.