A Vacuum Test At Northrop Grumman Does Not Mean Cleaning A Carpet

In May of this year, the first STSS (Space Tracking and Surveillance Systems) space vehicle completed thermal vacuum testing, Now, prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE:NOC] has reported the second of two STSS demo satellites being built for the Missile Defense Agency has also successfully completed thermal testing. This testing is undertaken to confirm that the satellite will operate according to specs in space. A key mission element demo’d was the vehicle’s ability to detect and track a target missile. Trained crews at the Missile Defense Sapce Experimentation Center (MDSEC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, also took control of the space vehicle to conduct on-orbit functional and performance tests. These included simulated, scheduled communications.




The STSS demonstration satellites will be launched in 2008 from Cape Canaveral. They will communicate with the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Test Bed via the Missile Defense Space Experimentation Center ground station. These STSS satellites will support the BMDS Test Bed by detecting and tracking missiles in all phases of flight. The test bed will allow the assessment of the STSS system’s capabilities and its ability to operate in concert with other parts of a multi-layered missile defense architecture—Redondo Beach, California