On this date: 50 years ago, August 1, 1974 - The last Safeguard System Test Target Program (SSTTP) flight occurred when a Minuteman Ib was launched from Vandenberg AFB,
California towards Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, allowing for anti-ballistic missile studies via the Safeguard program to be conducted.
During the SSTTP program, 27 Minuteman I and 7 Titan-II launches had been launched from June 1970. The M2 series of Safeguard final system evaluation test benefited from the
Air Force/Army cooperative tests, and yielded 46 successful interceptor missions and 7 failures. The final launches of Spartan and Sprint test missiles were conducted at Kwajalein
in April 1975, just as North Dakota's Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex achieved initial operational capability. Unlike the test missiles at Kwajalein, Spartans and Sprints
based in North Dakota would carry live nuclear warheads.
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