Associated Press, VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile launched early today on the central California coast successfully reached targets 42-hundred miles away in the South Pacific test range.
The Minuteman Three missile blasted off at 1:01 and reached Kwajalein (KWAH'-juh-leen) Missile Range targets in the Marshall Islands about 30 minutes later. The purpose was to test the accuracy and reliability of the I-C-B-M system.
The Air Force has about 500 nuclear warhead-tipped Minuteman Three missiles in silos located in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
