Anthony Galván III sends the following text and photo for a missile launch this morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base. (BTW, the first launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 had to wait 2 weeks for another launch window due to the fact the Western Range switched to these missile tests after SpaceX missed its first window.)

A LGM-30Minuteman rocket, also known as a Minuteman III, was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Sunday morning, September 22, 2013, at 3:01 PDT. The test launch is one of several launches scheduled for the west coast base this month.

Under a full moon, the rocket lifted off from Launch-Facility 10 (LF-10) which is Minuteman rocket launch silo complex at Vandenberg.

Minuteman III Launch as seen from Goleta, California.
Photo credit: © Anthony Galván III.

The Minuteman III is a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), designed to deliver nuclear warheads. Currently it is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States. Each missile carries three nuclear warheads, which have a yield in the range of 300 to 500 kilotons.

The letter “L” in “LGM” indicates that the missile is silo-launched; the “G” indicates that it is designed to attack ground targets; the “M” indicates that it is a guided missile.^[1]

The ICBM was named Minuteman after the Revolutionary War’s Minutemen who were able to respond quickly to a threat in the late 1770s. The missile can be prepared and launched in minutes after a valid launch order has been issued and plans are to keep the missile in service until 2030.