CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Air Force launched a Titan IV rocket Monday carrying a satellite designed to provide early warning of missile launches and nuclear explosions.
The pre-dawn launch of the $256 million Defense Support Program satellite had been delayed 1 1/2 weeks by concern over the rocket's guidance system. The DSP system has been a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to monitor missile launches over the past three decades, and would be integral to the operation of the national missile defense system being pushed by President Bush, said Air Force Col. Charles Cornell, deputy system program director.