April 27, 2006 :: UPI :: News
A new third stage rocket motor for MDA’s Standard Missile-3 interceptor was successfully tested on Monday, reports UPI. The test was carried out at Edwards Air Force Base, California, inside a vacuum chamber designed to simulate the space environment the SM-3 would encounter if launched against an incoming warhead. The third stage motor is designed to boost the SM-3 out of the atmosphere and to carry its Mk142 kinetic warhead (kill vehicle) to its intended target. The test successfully demonstrated the extended time lapse between the end of the motor’s first pulse and the initiation of the second. The first pulse puts the third stage on an intercept trajectory while the second pulse makes any necessary last-minute course corrections.
The SM-3 is a joint initiative between the U.S. and Japan. Once operational, the interceptors will be deployed on Aegis destroyers and cruisers as a sea-based defense against medium and long-range missiles. (Article)
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