Star Wars Volume-2

A fresh news from Aviation Week’s web page:

Missile Defense Advisors to Mull Space-based Sensors and Interceptors

The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Advisory Committee will meet Sept. 16 to receive classified briefings by Missile Defense Agency senior staff, program managers, senior Defense Department leaders and representatives from industry and the armed services on developing and deploying space-based sensors and interceptors.

Policy, technical and programmatic aspects will be considered for systems that could provide defenses for the U.S. homeland, deployed forces and allies from ballistic missile attack, as well as countering adversarial space systems and antisatellite systems. Agenda topics tentatively include discussion over the MDA Space Architecture Study, External Sensors Lab, Space-Based Surveillance System and Space Control, according to a Sept. 11 notice in the Federal Register.

Congress has mixed emotions about such topics. Lawmakers have repeatedly shelved the Bush administration’s proposed Space-based Testbed effort for orbital interceptors as many Capitol Hill denizens from both parties have misgivings about so-called weaponization of space. Still, the House and Senate also have passed languaged instructing the Defense Department to to do some harder thinking about cruise missile and homeland defense, so it makes sense for the advisory group to keep meeting as the next administration and Congress may want to take a step forward.