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"'La force motrice' of Reusable Launcher Development: The Rise and Fall of the SDIO's SSTO Program, From the X-Rocket to the Delta Clipper" Introduction. NASA commissioned me to document the development of the X-33 in March of 1997. The X-33 is an advanced technology demonstrator vehicle intended to flight test technologies deemed critical for eventually building a reusable single-stage-to-orbit rocket transport. Those technologies include a metallic thermal protection system, an aerospike engine, and composite cryogenic hydrogen tanks. As part of the history project, I chose to write about the SDIO's SSTO Program as a predecessor to the X-33, even though...

U.S. Must Move to Full Missile Defense by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.Posted Oct 09, 2006This week, HUMAN EVENTS begins an occasional series of exclusive articles in which leading conservatives who served in the Reagan Administration explain how they believe the principles of Reagan conservatism ought to be applied today and in the coming years. This week, Frank Gaffney, who served in Reagan’s Defense Department, addresses the issue of missile defense. Ronald Reagan is now esteemed around the world for having the vision and the leadership skills to bring about the demise of the Soviet Union. He is less widely appreciated...

The news about the successful missile defense test conducted Friday by the Defense Department came at an opportune moment. Not only do we have constant reminders from North Korea and Iran of the importance of this program, but the program itself has been in real need of a boost, because congressional appropriations have been lagging.

Symposium: Star Wars DefenseBy Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | August 25, 2006  The critical issue of Missile Defense now confronts our nation. The key questions remain: How mandatory is it? What is the threat that we need to protect ourselves against? What kind of system do we need? Is the one that is in the plans effective enough? How expensive will it be and how long will it take to build? And do we have the political will and leadership to get it done?   To discuss these issues with us today, we have assembled a distinguished panel. Our guests are: Thomas Karako, the Director of Programs...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Missile Defense Is CrucialCharles R. SmithThursday, Aug. 17, 2006 The summer of 2006 has been quite a show. The wave of missiles and missile threats has left us with a major turning point in modern military history. First, the global concern over Iran and its fledgling nuclear weapons program reached the United Nations. The diplomats seem to have few options to control the wild-eyed leadership in Tehran. The Iranians, meanwhile, are using the time to continue their nuclear option along with a robust missile development. A reaction to this was easily visible inside Israel, the number one...

US to double anti-missile ships in Pacific Reuters News, Wed Aug 16, 2006 By Jim Wolf HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (Reuters) - The United States, concerned about North Korea, will double to six by the end of the year the number of its ships in the Pacific capable of shooting down enemy ballistic missiles, the head of the Pentagon missile-defense project involved said on Wednesday. "I think it gives the nation more options," Rear Adm. Alan Hicks, program manager for Aegis ballistic missile defense, told reporters here after speaking to a conference on the fledgling U.S. shield. In coming years, a growing...

DoD Finds Cruise Missile Defense 'Gaps' InsideDefense.com NewsStand | John Liang | August 17, 2006 A Pentagon assessment of the U.S. capability to defend the homeland against incoming enemy cruise missiles has found what it calls “capability gaps” that may not be solved until 2015. As a result, the Air Force's directorate of operational capability requirements is leading a Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System study “to determine the best approaches for mitigating high-risk joint gaps in the [Homeland Air and Cruise Missile Defense of North America] mission area,” according to an Aug. 9 request for information posted on Federal...

Report Supports Sea-, Space-Based Missile DefensesGlobal Security Newswire, August 4, 2006 The United States should focus on developing sea- and space-based missile defenses rather than expanding ground-based systems beyond the interceptors already deployed in Alaska and California, according to a experts’ report issued last month (see GSN, May 11).“Near-term options exist for developing viable sea-and space based defense within the next decade resulting in a comprehensive, global layered missile defense system,” says the 202-page report from the Independent Working Group on Missile Defense, the Space Relationship and the 21st century.“This option would complement the [Ground-based Midcourse Defense] system currently being...

On the Fourth of July, North Korea's Kim Jong Il tested a series of ballistic missiles. Two days later, when questioned about the test, President Bush acknowledged that America's missile defenses were "modest and new." That they are new is understandable, since only in the last year has America begun to field missile defenses. The modest part, however, is of greater concern, since they are likely to remain modest by design throughout the administration's tenure.

Experts debate space-based BMD assets [More Usual Suspects] By JESSICA TAYLOR UPI, July 25, 2006 WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- A new report claims U.S. anti-ballistic missile defenses must be deployed in space to be effective, but critics disagree. Several analysts say the study is based on false pretenses and the deployment of defense mechanisms into space is not in national security interests. The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, a Washington think tank, has issued a study saying the implementation of plans for space missile defense is critical for U.S. national security and an effective system against at least some...

Going on Offense for Missile Defense Defending ourselves has never made more sense. by Fred Barnes 08/07/2006, Volume 011, Issue 44 SENATOR CARL LEVIN of Michigan had a grim and unhappy look on his face. For years, he had led Democrats in an effort to slash funding for missile defense. He had planned to seek a cut of $68 million. But with North Korea poised to launch missiles and Iran's relentless drive to go nuclear, the situation had changed. So much so that Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama proposed to boost spending on the missile defense program, now more than...

Defanging Hezbollah: A Directed Energy Defense Could Help by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and David D. Gentilli WebMemo #1169 July 20, 2006 | Hezbollah’s Katyusha rocket attacks have killed and wounded dozens of Israelis, destroyed property, and sent thousands to bomb shelters. They threaten to plunge the entire region into conflict. There is a way to shoot these missiles out of the sky, limiting the danger to innocents and mitigating the serious threat of one of the region’s most dangerous terrorist groups. The U.S. Army and Israeli Defense Ministry have a joint program that has developed a high-energy laser that...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Hit or Miss: Grading U.S. Missile Defense Dave Eberhart, NewsMaxFriday, July 7, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On July 5, just hours after the provocative North Korean test-launch of seven missiles, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated that the threat remained clear and present. The communist country's launch included a missile capable of hitting the U.S. Northwest. Critics charge that U.S. missile defense remains a long way from being a reliable sentinel against that clear and present danger. Bryan Whitman, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) revealed after the North Korean launches, "Each and every...

Ballistic missile defense has undergone fundamental changes over the past few months. Global politics, technology, budgets and inter-service rivalries are all playing their part in shaping the new landscape. Some-where in this mixture are the needs of the military forces and civilian populations that face an increasing threat, writes Mark Hewish In a series of recent interlinked moves, the US has reshuffled the cards in its ballistic missile defense (BMD) pack. The outcome is still uncertain, with shifts in direction occurring almost daily. In January 2002, the country's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) was redesignated the Missile Defense Agency (MDA)....