Aalice.152 net.columbia utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ihnss!houxf!harpo!research!alice!wolit Thu Nov 12 01:12:50 1981 ASAT (While not really a space program item, I thought this might be of interest. Maybe you'd call it an anti-space program piece.) Vought has begun ground testing of its full-size engineering model of the antisatellite (ASAT) system it is developing for the Air Force. The 2-stage missile, to be launched from an Air Force/McDonnell Douglas F-15 aircraft, is over 17 feet long, 20 inches in diameter, and weighs 2600 lbs. An Air Force short-range attack missile (SRAM) solid rocket booster is used as the first stage. The second stage is powered by a slightly modified Altair 3 solid rocket motor, used in the fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle. Liquid hydrazine thrusters are used for attitude control on the upper stage, which also includes the miniaturized ASAT vehicle itself, the munitions dispenser, inertial reference gyros, computer, and a Dewar containing coolant. The Air Force is also studying anti-antisatellite strategies, including evasive maneuvering, electronic jamming, decoys, lasers, and defensive counterfire capabilities for its spacecraft. Star Wars, here we come, it seems! ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.