The variant of the Titan IVB flown Saturday did not carry an upper stage for its payload, a satellite for the super-secret National Reconnaissance Office.

The organization is a defense agency that operates spy satellites for the Pentagon. The launch was the first successful Titan IV since last August, when three Titans in a row, all from Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida, failed.

The first, last August, blew up shortly after launch, destroying itself and its satellite, also for the NRO. In April, a pair of Titan IVBs failed to place their satellites in correct orbits.

Those boosters used a Boeing-made Inertial Upper Stage and Lockheed Martin-made Centaur upper stage, both which apparently malfunctioned. Investigation boards are looking into the causes of those failures.

Together, the three versions of the Titan IVB, the two with upper stages and the one launched Saturday without, form the backbone of the U.S. heavy lift launch vehicle stable.

The satellites lost in the April failures, a missile early warning satellite and a Air Force communications spacecraft will not impact U.S. defense needs, the Air Force said.

Launcher - SpaceDaily Special Report

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