USAF says it is on track to launch in November the third of three satellites in the current Defense Meteorological Satellite Program constellation. Officials at Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., expressed their optimistic review in a July 20 release. The overall DMSP program has been around for some five decades. It is a key part of USAF’s efforts to track global weather conditions for the Pentagon and civilian agencyes. SMC designs, builds, and maintains the fleet.
Air Force Global Strike Command test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile Aug. 16, several days after delaying the test to avoid stoking tensions with China. The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., took place at 12:49 a.m. Pacific time. The ICBM reentry vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles…