Rocket Lofts Classified Cargo
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Associated Press
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE — An Atlas rocket thundered into orbit this morning carrying a classified cargo which space policy specialists say probably is a cluster of Navy ocean surveillance satellites.
The Air Force confirmed the launch at 8:45 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 3 of the Western Space and Missile Center here but declined to identify the cargo. Military reconnaissance specialists said they believed the payload was a cluster of satellites capable of keeping track of the Soviet fleet by locating radar and radio transmissions.
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