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Washington's Missile Defense Agency has earmarked $68 million for what some believe is the first step for putting weapons in space, ABC News reported Tuesday. Known as the Near Field Infrared Experiment or NFIRE satellite, it is primarily designed to gather data on exhaust plumes from rockets launched from earth. As a result, military officials say the $68 million item in the 2005 budget is a defensive, rather than offensive project. But, critics point out, the satellite will also contain a smaller "kill vehicle," a projectile that takes advantage of the kinetic energy of objects traveling through low-Earth orbit (which move at several times the speed of a bullet) to disable or destroy an oncoming missile or another orbiting satellite. As one senior government official and defense expert, who requested anonymity, said, "We're crossing the Rubicon into space weaponization." All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of by United Press International. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Lockheed Martin Receives $505 Million for PAC-3 Missile Production
Dallas - Feb 20, 2004Lockheed Martin has received production contracts totaling $505 million for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles and related support equipment. The battle- proven PAC-3 Missile is currently the world's only fielded hit-to-kill, pure kinetic energy air defense missile. |
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