missile defense
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US Air Force successfully shoots down multiple missiles with a laser
The US Air Force just edged closer to its goal of outfitting aircraft with laser weapons. Testers at the White Sands Missile Range have successfully shot down multiple air-launched missiles using the Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD), proving that it can hold up under intense situations. While SHiELD is currently a ground-based behemoth (see below), the finished technology should be portable and rugged enough to be used aboard aircraft.
First piece of SBIRS missile defense system launched, not shot down
No need to worry about that loud, fiery exploding noise in Florida last week -- that was the sound of us all becoming a little bit safer. An Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, carrying Lockheed Martin's Space-Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) Geo-1. The spacecraft will be followed by three more satellites launched in the next five years, all totaling $17.6 billion. Ominously referred to as "persistent overhead surveillance," the $1.3 billion first piece of the SBIRS constellation missile defense system is set to replace the antiquated Defense Support Program launched in 1970. It's a small price to pay to keep those darn space invaders out of our hair.
US satellites successfully track ballistic missile from cradle to grave, don't pay for the flowers
Lasers destroy missiles, missiles shoot down satellites, and soon, satellites may tell both where to aim, as the United States successfully managed to track an entire ballistic missile launch from "birth-to-death" with its prototype Space Tracking and Surveillance System. After a year and a half in orbit, two Northrop Grumman-built satellites managed the feat last week, in what the company's calling "the Holy Grail for missile defense." While we're not reading about any plans to mount any lasers on the satellite's... ahem... heads, Space News reports that the US Navy will attempt to relay the satellite tracking data to its Aegis ships with interceptor missiles on board, and hopefully obliterate incoming projectiles with the extra range and reaction time that satellite coordinates afford. The Navy has reportedly scheduled its first game of space-based Missile Command for next month.
