Missile launches after 3-hour delay

After a three-hour delay from multiple causes, an unarmed Minuteman 3 missile thundered out of its underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday morning.

The intercontinental ballistic missile blasted out of Launch Facility 10 on North Base at 6:35 a.m., more than three hours after officials intended. The six-hour window opened at 3:01 a.m.

Base officials blamed the delays on inclement downrange weather and an interruption in communication with the Airborne Launch Control System.

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