VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The 30th Space Wing, the 576th
Flight Test Squadron and a task force from the 91st Space Wing, Minot
AFB, N.D., are scheduled to launch an unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile Sept. 10 from North Vandenberg as
part of Force Development Evaluation. The launch window is scheduled
from 4:31 to 10:31 a.m. Pacific Standard Time*.

Capt. Rob Light, 576th FLTS, will direct launch activities. Mission
Director for this launch is Lt. Col. Anthony Blaylock, 576th FLTS
commander. Col. Wayne Louis, 30th Space Wing vice commander, will be
the spacelift commander, or final go/no go for the launch.

The missile’s three unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel
approximately 4,200 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting a
pre-determined target at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the western
chain of the Marshall Islands.

*This should say Pacific Daylight Time – Editor

MINUTEMAN III FLIGHT EVENTS

The following table is a generic listing of flight events for
Minuteman III launches from Vandenberg AFB. The times and altitudes
may vary for each launch. 

                                                         Downrange
Time                                      Altitude    Distance
mm:ss                Event                  (NM)      (NM)
-----       -----------------------       --------       ---------
00:00       Stage 1 ignition               0               0
01:01       Stage 2 ignition                 16              18
02:06       Stage 3 ignition                 49             120
03:05       Stage 3 separation              123             210

GLOSSARY

  • mm:ss Minutes and seconds
  • NM Nautical miles. A nautical mile is 6,076.115 feet in length.
  • The statute mile used in everday life is 5,280 feet long.
  • PDT Pacific Daylight Time
  • PST Pacific Standard Time