Air Force Space Command announced Monday that a Minotaur rocket successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., lifting off from Space Launch Complex 8, on April 14. The Minotaur, a ground-based version of Orbital Science Corp.’s air-launched Pegasus rocket, boosted the COSMIC spacecraft’s six low Earth orbiting micro-satellites. The COSMIC constellation is designed to collect data on moisture in Earth’s atmosphere.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
