VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A powerful Titan 4B rocket carried a classified satellite into orbit Thursday.
The launch and payload separation were successful, said Capt. Tom Knowles, a 30th Space Wing spokesman.
The rocket was visible across a wide area of California as it rose over the Pacific at 4:45 p.m. PDT.
The Air Force said the new satellite was designed and built by the National Reconnaissance Office but did not release any information about its purpose. Knowles referred questions about the satellite to the NRO.
Titan 4 launches have been closely watched since three in a row failed in 1998-99. Since then, two other Titan 4 launches have been successful.
Built by Lockheed Martin Corp., Titan 4s are the nation's largest unmanned rocket. The boosters are made up of a two-stage, liquid-fuel rocket combined with two solid-fuel rocket motors.
Titan 4s successfully launched a defense satellite on May 8 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and a classified satellite from Vandenberg in May 1999.
Prior to that, Titan 4s were involved in three of six costly U.S. launch failures in a nine-month span. One blew up and the other two put satellites into wrong orbits. All three launches were from Florida.
