MMII launch info
ROB MATSON (ROBERT.D.MATSON@cpmx.saic.com)
27 Jun 1997 11:38:06 -0800
Mail*Link(r) SMTP MMII launch info
In case anyone was interested in the press release for the spectacular
Minuteman II launch from Vandenberg this past Monday, widely observed in
southern California...
------------------------------
> Mission Update
> BMDO conducts successful NMD test
>
> Two Lockheed Martin rockets were successfully launched Monday night
> within minutes of each other, but 4,200 miles apart, completing a test
> supporting the Ground Based Interceptor element of the Ballistic
> Missile Defense Organization's (BMDO) National Missile Defense (NMD)
> program. A Multi-Service Launch System (MSLS) rocket was launched from
> Vandenberg AFB at 8:39 p.m. Pacific time carrying a suite of targets.
> A Payload Launch Vehicle (PLV) lifted off from the Kwajalein test
> range in the South Pacific 21 minutes later carrying a prototype
> sensor designed to acquire, track and discriminate between the
> targets.
> The MSLS is a refurbished, three-stage Minuteman II
> intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a new front section.
> Lockheed Martin Astronautics designed and built the new front section
> and associated flight hardware for the MSLS and provided launch
> services under contract to the U.S. Air Force Test and Evaluation
> Directorate, Space & Missile Systems Center, Kirtland AFB, NM.
> Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space is the prime contractor for the
> PLV which also is a refurbished, two-stage Minuteman II ICBM with a
> new front section carrying a Boeing-designed prototype sensor. LMMS
> designed and built the new front section and provided integration and
> launch services under a contract to the U.S. Army Space & Strategic
> Defense Command (SSDC), Huntsville, Ala. The MSLS mission successfully
> deployed nine inert targets while the PLV deployed the prototype
> sensor. Another similar test is planned for early next year to
> evaluate a competing sensor.