Small Satellite Launched in ‘Star Wars’ Test
A small satellite was launched Saturday on a $19-million mission to help the Pentagon develop its “Star Wars” missile detection system.
A Scout rocket carrying the MSTI-1 satellite blasted off from this coastal military base at 5:45 a.m., said Jan Cooksey, spokeswoman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The Miniature Seeker Technology Integration-1 satellite reached its 249-mile-high orbit at 6:38 a.m.
The 330-pound satellite is a new kind of low-cost, lightweight craft used to test the miniaturized cameras and sensors designed to detect an attack by medium- and short-range ballistic missiles.
The mission’s main purpose is to make sure that the satellite works before three others are launched during the next two years, said Richard Matlock, program manager.
MSTI-1 was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Matlock said the mission costs include $4 million for the launch and $15 million for the satellite, payload and ground support.
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