Posted: Mon, Aug 6, 2001, 10:20 AM ET (1420 GMT)
A Titan 4 booster successfully launched a military early-warning satellite early Monday from Cape Canaveral. The Titan 4B lifted off at 3:28 am EDT (0728 GMT) from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The booster placed into a transfer orbit the Defense Support Program DSP-21 spacecraft and its IUS upper stage. The IUS will be used to send the satellite into geosynchronous orbit later Monday. The launch was scheduled for late July but delayed after a potential problem with the booster's guidance system was discovered hours before launch. DSP-21 is the latest in a series of military satellites designed to provide the military with early warning of missile launches and nuclear explosions worldwide. The launch is the second of the year for the Titan 4, after the late February launch of a Milstar communications satellite. Up to two more Titan 4 launches are scheduled to take place this year.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Spaceflight Now mission status center