The National Reconnaissance Office says the classified NROL-30 payload launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., June 15 achieved “nominal” vehicle separation from the booster. NRO expressed confidence that the space vehicle could perform its mission, despite the Centaur upper stage “technical anomaly which resulted in minor performance degradation.”
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.