Lockheed Martin launched a Titan IVB booster, with no upper stage, carrying an unidentified National Reconnaissance Office satellite, from Vandenberg AFB, California, on 22 May.
The success of the venture breaks a sequence of two failed Titan IVB launches carrying inertial upper stages and Centaur upper stages in April. This resulted in the grounding of Titan IVBs equipped with upper stages.
The satellite payload separated from the Titan 12min after launch. The payload was previously thought to be a Lacrosse radar reconnaissance satellite, but the Titan carried a payload shroud that was too small for the craft.
The launch was the first of the IVB without an upper stage.
Source: Flight International