Posted: Sat, Apr 30, 2005, 11:38 AM ET (1538 GMT)
The next-to-last Titan 4B lifted off successfully Friday night, placing a classified military payload into orbit. The Titan 4B lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:50 pm EDT Friday (0050 GMT Saturday) and placed its payload into orbit ten minutes later. The nighttime launch provided a brilliant display for observers throughout the East Coast as the Titan placed the National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft into a low, inclined orbit. The launch was the last Titan 4 to lift off from Cape Canaveral; one final Titan 4 launch is scheduled for this summer from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  AP article
•  Reuters article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center
•  Lockheed Martin press release