-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! US steadies aim of space laser Thursday, 25 January 2001 13:43 (ET) US steadies aim of space laser EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The development of a futuristic orbiting laser capable of shooting down missiles headed for the United States took a step forward with the successful test of a means to keep the weapon pointed at its target in the weightless environment of space. Engineers from the Space Based Laser-Integrated Flight Experiment (SPL-IFX) consortium successfully tested software designed to keep the laser's telescopic targeting optics fixed on their targets while the weapon is firing, it was announced Thursday. "The test was a solid success," said Col. Neil McCasland, director of the Air Force's SBL-IFX project office. "The laser operated (as expected), the software designed to maintain the positions of the beam director optics during lasing performed as designed, and we collected a wealth of diagnostic data about the high-energy laser environment." The test, which lasted 6 seconds, took place Dec. 8 at a TRW facility in Orange County, Calif. The $240 million SBL-IFX project is aimed at developing a working laser-armed satellite that can defend the United States against a small number of missiles launched either by mistake or by a "rogue" nation. The Air Force-funded consortium's plan calls for an actual attempted interception in 2013. "A critical part of a successful on-orbit IFX demonstration is being able to know precisely where the beam director will direct the laser beam," said Art Woods, Lockheed Martin's space laser program manager. "We proved with this test that the...systems designed to measure the alignment of the beam director telescope and the relationship between the beam director's primary and secondary mirrors can operate effectively in the presence of the high-power laser beam." The consortium, which includes TRW, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, received its latest funding increment from the Pentagon last October and has started fabricating some parts of the actual orbiter, a TRW spokesman said Thursday. -- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
