Dec. 11, 2002

The final test of the planned intercept of a long-range ballistic missile target over a Pacific Ocean test range involving the use of the interceptor's surrogate booster rocket could not be completed when the interceptor and the booster failed to separate, the Defense Department announced December 11.

The test was the eighth in a series designed to determine the feasibility of developing and deploying anti-ballistic missiles using "hit-to-kill" technology against an incoming threat missile during the mid-course phase. This was the second time that the interceptor failed to separate from the booster rocket. This particular booster will not be used again. Two new booster designs are currently in development and will undergo flight testing beginning next spring, according to the Defense Department statement.

All other aspects of the Ground-based, Midcourse Defense (GMD) program experiment worked as planned, according to the statement, "including radars and other sensors, as well as the battle management, command, control and communication elements that are vital in the GMD development effort." In addition, the boosting target missile was also successfully detected and tracked by a Navy Aegis-class cruiser, by a modified Air Force Boeing 747 known as the Airborne Laser, and by a developmental Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, the statement noted.