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Critics Laud Plan to Remove 'Kill Vehicle' From Satellite
By JEREMY SINGER
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 23 August 2004
12:01 pm ET
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The Pentagon is considering restructuring a missile defense satellite experiment that critics have charged is an attempt to develop a space-based missile interceptor.
Under the proposal, which was sent to Capitol Hill earlier this month, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) would remove a small sensor vehicle from the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite. The sensor was intended to detach from the satellite and then approach and fly past a ballistic missile to gather data on the rocket's plume, according to Pentagon officials.
MDA refers to the sensor as a kill vehicle because it is based on the technology used for the kill vehicles on missile interceptors, the officials said. They had described the kill vehicle as a way for MDA to gather high-resolution data on the ballistic missile and its plume even as the missile moved quickly through space.
If the sensor is removed, the NFIRE satellite will still be able to gather data to help the military distinguish between the body of the ballistic missile and its exhaust plume, the officials said.
NFIRE is being built by Spectrum Astro Inc. of Gilbert, Ariz., part of General Dynamics Corp. The satellite was expected be launched aboard a Minotaur rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., in late 2005. Restructuring the experiment would delay the launch of the NFIRE satellite until late 2006, the officials said.
The Pentagon is awaiting word from Congress on the funding for the NFIRE experiment in 2005 before it finalizes the plan to remove the small sensor.
The Pentagon requested $68 million for the NFIRE experiment in 2005. The U.S. House of Representatives had proposed providing no money for NFIRE in its version of the 2005 Defense Appropriations Act. But the conference report that resolved the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation met the Pentagon's request, but placed the $68 million in brackets indicating restrictions that were not specified. The legislation was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush Aug. 5. Pentagon officials said they are still not clear on what the restrictions in the legislation may be, and have had difficulty reaching congressional aides while Congress is in recess. A Senate Appropriations Committee aide said the funding was placed in brackets to prevent it from being diverted to other programs within the Pentagon budget.
Although MDA officials insisted that the vehicle that would have been ejected from the NFIRE satellite to fly past a ballistic missile was not intended to hit the missile, they acknowledged this spring that there was a significant chance of an unintentional collision.
This caused concern from some congressional Democrats that other countries might interpret the NFIRE experiment as a test of a space-based missile interceptor. Even before the Pentagon acknowledged the likelihood of a collision, some experts believed the experiment was intended to pave the way for space-based interceptors, noting that it is easier to ram into the rocket than it is to fly alongside without touching it.
U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who encouraged MDA during hearings earlier this year to take steps to ensure that the kill vehicle did not hit the missile, said she was pleased to hear that the Pentagon is considering removing the kill vehicle from the experiment.
"My biggest concern was what message we might send to other nations," Sanchez said in an Aug. 18 telephone interview.
Theresa Hitchens, vice president for the Center for Defense Information, a think tank here, called on MDA to be more open about the goals and parameters of the NFIRE experiment.
Hitchens noted that MDA did not publicly acknowledge the presence of the kill vehicle at the onset of the NFIRE program, and later did not mention its likelihood of hitting the ballistic missile during the flight experiment.
"It says to me that either MDA is unclear with what they want to accomplish with NFIRE or they're being disingenuous," Hitchens said.
Comments: jsinger@space.com
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