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US Launches Titan Rocket With Missile-Warning Satellite
The US Air Force launched a Titan IV rocket from Cape Canaveral of Florida Monday, carrying a satellite designed to provide early warning of missile launches and nuclear explosions.
The launch of the 256-million-US-dollar Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite had been delayed by concern over the rocket's guidance system. This was the 21st satellite of its kind launched by the Air Force.
The DSP system has been a cornerstone of US efforts to monitor missile launches over the past three decades, and would be integral to the operation of the national missile defense system being pushed by President George W. Bush.
In 1991, DSP satellites provided advanced warning of Scud missile launches during the Gulf War.
The satellite was launched aboard a 453-million-dollar Titan IV rocket, the largest and most powerful unmanned rocket in the U.S. arsenal.
The Air Force plans to put two more DSP satellites into orbit over the next few years before the system is replaced by the more advanced Space-Based Infrared System later this decade.
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