Boeing

On the final mission for the program, a Boeing [NYSE:BA] Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) payload booster vehicle successfully deployed a U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite today.

The IUS-10 and its integrated payload, DSP-22, were launched aboard a Titan IV B rocket, which also flew with a Boeing-made fairing. Liftoff occurred at 1:50 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Upon separation from the rocket, IUS-10 fired its two stages to propel the spacecraft toward its geosynchronous orbit. Following roll maneuvers, the IUS successfully deployed the spacecraft.

"This last IUS mission added a critical asset to our nation's military space program with the successful launch of DSP-22," said Bill Benshoof, Boeing IUS program manager. "The flight of IUS-10 concludes a 22-year journey for one of the most successful upper stages ever built and flown."