ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An early morning missile test in New Mexico left a white contrail that quickly turned into a corkscrew that was visible for hundreds of miles Thursday.
The unarmed Juno target missile was launched at 6:55 a.m. MST from an old military depot in northwestern New Mexico.
It was aimed at White Sands Missile Range, some 215 miles away, but a White Sands spokesman says it was successfully intercepted over the range by a Patriot missile and disintegrated midair.
Range spokesman Luciano Vera says a second Patriot fired from White Sands self-destructed after the first Patriot hit the target.
The corkscrew-shaped contrail was visible in Phoenix, 245 miles southwest of the launch site.
