spacetoday.net: Titan 4 launches Milstar satellite

Updated: Wed, Feb 28, 2001, 7:22 AM ET (1222 GMT)
Originally Posted: Tue, Feb 27, 2001, 6:11 PM ET (2311 GMT)
A Titan 4B booster successfully launched a Milstar military communications satellite Tuesday afternoon from Florida. The booster lifted off from Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 4:20 pm EST (2120 GMT) and placed into a temporary parking orbit the Milstar 4 communications satellite and its Centaur upper stage. The Centaur placed the spacecraft into geosynchronous orbit later Tuesday, where it joins two other Milstar satellites that provide secure communications for the US Defense Department. The launch had been originally scheduled for last year but was delayed to accommodate another Titan 4 launch at the complex, and delayed again by several technical problems with the booster and satellite. Minor equipment problems delayed Tuesday's launch attempt by about two and a half hours.