Experimental MDA Craft Gets New Owner, Mission

摘要

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has completed its demonstration program with a classified experimental missile track ing satellite and will transition it to the con trol of Air Force Space Command to sup-port the service's space situational awareness mission, according to a Nov. 8 MDA press release.rnThe Space Tracking and Surveillance Sys tem (STSS) Advanced Technology Risk Re duction satellite, built by Northrop Grum-laan Aerospace Systems of Los Angeles, was launched in May 2009. Northrop Grumman also built a pair of unclassified STSS demon stration satellites that were launched four months later; all three spacecraft are precur sors to an operational missile tracking con stellation planned by the MDA.