Rocket carrying secret payload launches from US

A rocket carrying a classified payload has launched from the California coast. Liftoff occurred Tuesday afternoon from the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

A rocket carrying a classified payload has launched from the California coast. Liftoff occurred Tuesday afternoon from the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

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Launch of the Delta IV rocket was delayed nearly a week as engineers worked to fix a problem with the upper-stage engine.

The National Reconnaissance Office has kept mum about the purpose of the satellite. The agency oversees the nation's constellation of spy satellites. Intelligence analysts think it's a radar imaging satellite capable of seeing at night and through bad weather.