Fall 2011 Minotaur IV rocket launch from Kodiak

KODIAK, Alaska - An Air Force Minotaur IV rocket is successfully propelled into Earth's atmosphere from the Kodiak Launch Complex at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island with a defense satellite aboard Sept. 27, 2011. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Kodiak and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Long Island from Valdez patrolled the safety zone off Narrow Cape to ensure no vessels or aircraft were in the vicinity and could be affected by the rocket. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis.