A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Wednesday carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload into space, according to Air Force and industry officials. The launch occurred at 11:03 a.m. local time from Space Launch Complex-6, according to the 30th Space Wing’s Facebook page. The Aug. 28 mission, designated NROL-65, was in support of national defense. This was the second-ever Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg, said the officials The first took place in January 2011. (See also ULA release.)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.