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S. Launches Second Scud for Anti-Missile Research

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) -- The U.S. military launched a Scud missile Monday to obtain data for use in developing missile defense systems.

The missile lifted off from a mobile launcher, reached an altitude of 281,000 feet (84,300 meters) and traveled 186 miles (300 kilometers) before it fell into the Pacific Ocean, Missile Defense Agency spokesman Chris Taylor said. The test was conducted to obtain flight data, and did not involve an intercept attempt, he said.

It was the military's second launch this month of a Scud, a ballistic missile that was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and is now in the arsenals of at least 25 nations, including Iraq.

The launch was part of a $13 million program to help develop an advanced version of the Patriot anti-missile system and other defense technologies, officials said.

The Patriot was put to the test during the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq fired about 90 Scuds. Forty-three landed in Saudi Arabia and 39 in Israel. One hit a U.S. barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing 28 soldiers. A congressional report found that Patriots downed only four Scuds.

The Scud is difficult to hit because it wobbles wildly in flight.

A Call for Planetary Defense

The final report of the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, released last week, calls for the Department of Defense (DoD) to take on the role of planetary defense.

The Commission noted that the U.S. Air Force is looking into use of satellites for detecting and tracking human-made satellites in Earth orbit. That effort should be broadened, the study group advised, to include detection of asteroids.

Given Air Force study and other military space reviews underway, "planetary defense should be assigned to the DoD in cooperation with NASA," the report states.

"The day will arrive when an asteroid is discovered on a collision course with Earth. The more we know about their orbit and structure, the more effective we can be in attempting to deflect it from harm's way," the Commission report concludes.

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