Unarmed missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base officials launched a Minuteman III missile Wednesday morning.

The unarmed missile took off just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The launch was previously scheduled to take place Tuesday morning, but Air Force officials delayed the launch because of a range safety instrumentation issue.

The unarmed missile is traveling more than 4,000 miles across the pacific towards the Marshall Islands.

The Department of Defense and Energy will use the data collected from the mission as a nuclear deterrent.

This is Vandenberg’s first missile launch of the year.