Launch of an Improved PARCAE atop a Titan IV rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1993 ended in failure. The failure was reported to cost over $800 million, although it is unclear if this cost also included the Titan IV. (credit: Peter Hunter) Fate is in the stars: the PARCAE ocean surveillance satellites On April 30, 1976, an Atlas F rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying a new type of satellite into space. Upon reaching its orbit of approximately 1,050 by 1,150 kilometer...