On December 12th, a test of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system failed when the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) interceptor and the booster rocket failed to separate. This prevented the EKV from getting close enough to the incoming Minuteman III warhead in space. The Minuteman III had been launched 20 minutes earlier from the west coast of the United States. The anti-ballistic missile was launched from 7,700 kilometers away in Kwajalein Atoll. The current booster for the anti-ballistic missile is a temporary one until the designed for booster is ready for use.