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US Missile Defense Test Ends In Fiasco, Second In A Row
Washington (AFP) Feb 15, 2005 For the second time in less than two months, a test of the Pentagon's missile defense system ended in fiasco Monday when an interceptor missile failed to lift off, defense officials said. The Missile Defense Agency said the failure became apparent when an interceptor that was supposed to shoot down an incoming target missile carrying a mock warhead did not take off from the Ronald Reagan Test Site located on the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific. "The reason for not launching is under investigation, and program officials are reviewing data to determine the cause," the agency said in a statement. The setback was most likely caused by a malfunction of the ground support equipment rather than defects of the missile itself, the officials pointed out. However, the failed test was the second for the beleaguered national missile defense system since mid-December. The December 15 test was aborted after a built-in internal check detected an anomaly in the interceptor missile, shutting it down moments before launch from an atoll in the Pacific. Lieutenant General Henry Obering, who heads the Missile Defense Agency said an assessment had determined that the anomaly was a rare gap in the flow of electronic messages between the flight computer and the interceptor's thrust vector controller, which guides the missile. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Missile Defense Program Moves Forward
Washington DC (AFPS) Jan 12, 2006The Missile Defense Agency continues to move forward in its efforts to protect the nation against a ballistic missile attack. The eighth ground-based interceptor missile was lowered into its underground silo at Fort Greely, Alaska, Dec. 18, 2005. |
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