California IN BRIEF : VANDENBERG AFB : Military Is Mum on ‘Star Wars’ Missile

A Minuteman I ballistic missile was launched from this Santa Barbara County coastal base, streaking over the Pacific Ocean with a secret payload in a mission related to the Strategic Defense Initiative, the Air Force said. The missile propelled its payload to a target north of the Kwajalein Atoll missile range in the South Pacific, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Tom Clements. The 4,200-mile mission took half an hour. The launch was conducted as part of the Air Force’s Re-entry Systems Launch Program, which is managed by the Ballistic Missile Organization at Norton Air Force Base, Clements said. William Congo, spokesman for the Strategic Defense Command in Arlington, Va., refused to comment on the mission’s payload, objectives or success.