Shuttle Crew Will Assist in ‘Star Wars’ Test

The crew of the shuttle Discovery will help ground crews test an experimental “Star Wars” laser tracking system based in Hawaii next month, the Defense Department announced today.

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization in Washington released a statement outlining the experiment, the first directly related to the “Star Wars” program to be carried into space aboard a shuttle.

Discovery tentatively is scheduled for launch June 14, but problems repairing a wing control flap damaged during the shuttle’s April landing could prompt a slight delay.

The Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” is a massive research effort to identify technology that can be used for space-based or ground systems to destroy enemy missiles before they can reach targets in the United States.

8-Inch Reflector

The statement released today said the “high-precision tracking experiment”--the first in a series of shuttle experiments--consists of an eight-inch diameter reflector that will be mounted in the shuttle’s airlock hatch window.

“The experiment . . . is designed to test the ability of a ground laser beam detector to accurately track an object in low earth orbit,” the statement said.

The reflector assembly will be used to “receive and reflect a low-energy ground laser beam from a test facility located on the island of Maui, Hawaii.”

Beginning in 1987, two shuttle flights a year are expected to be required for experiments to test “Star Wars” aiming and tracking systems.