The U.S. Missile Defense Agency
(MDA) is delaying until sometime in the spring of 2008 the planned launch of two experimental
missile tracking satellites. Launch of those satellites had been scheduled for November, according to an MDA official.
However, the
agency still plans to go ahead with the launch of a related classified
demonstration payload before the end of the year. That launch initially was slated to follow the
launch of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Block 06
satellites, according to an agency official but the STSS Block 06 launch is
being moved to a spring launch because of
launch range conflicts and a delay in the completion of vacuum testing of the two satellites, the official MDA said.
The two satellites will launch
together aboard a Delta 2 rocket built by United Launch Alliance. The
classified payload, which also is expected to launch aboard a
Delta 2 rocket, is known as STSS Block 2010 Risk Reduction, and is intended to
explore "alternate technology for potential missile defense application,"
according to the MDA official.
Northrop
Grumman Space Technology of Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for
the STSS program. The satellites for the Block 06 demonstration feature
infrared payloads developed by Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems of El
Segundo, Calif. Those infrared payloads were originally intended for an
experiment under the Space Based Infrared System-Low program that was canceled
in 1999 due to cost overruns.
Bob Bishop, a
Northrop Grumman spokesman, provided a written statement from the company that
said the company "is committed to a
successful launch" of the Block 06 demonstration satellites. "STSS will be the
only provider of space tracking and surveillance in the mid-course phase and
also will play a vital, complimentary role in the space situational awareness
future architecture - both missions that are essential to our security,"
Northrop Grumman said in the statement.
John Barksdale, a Raytheon
spokesman, deferred to MDA for comment.
The
Government Accountability Office found a variety of issues with the STSS
program in a March 15 report that examined MDA's acquisition portfolio. The
report noted that the first satellite's payload experienced hardware failures
when tested in a vacuum and at cold temperatures, which delayed integration
with the spacecraft platform.
Northrop
Grumman responded to these issues by tightening its inspection and oversight of
Raytheon's work, according to the report.
Meanwhile,
the STSS program is facing the prospect of a reduction to its 2008 budget
request of $322 million. The House of Representatives cut $75 million from the
program in its version of the 2008 defense authorization, which it passed on
May 17, and expressed concern that MDA is developing plans for an operational
constellation of satellites that would launch for the first time around the
middle of the next decade before fully evaluating the results of the
experimentation with the Block 06 satellites.
The Senate
Armed Services Committee, which sent its version of the bill to the Senate
floor June 5, where it is awaiting a
vote, expressed similar concerns to those of its House counterparts in a report
accompanying its version of the bill. The committee cut $55 million from the
STSS budget request, which it said intended to stop work in 2008 for the
follow-on constellation.
