Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four months after the newest U.S. missile-warning satellite built by Northrop Grumman Corp failed in orbit, officials are still investigating what happened. The classified Defense Support Program satellite known as DSP 23 was launched into geosynchronous orbit in November 2007 but stopped responding to commands in mid-September last year, as first reported by Reuters in November. "There's not that much data available," one U.S. defense official said, describing the current investigation as sophisticated, long-distance detective work. "You have to go back and recreate what might have been going on," said the official, who asked not to be...

In a top secret operation, the U.S. Defense Dept. is conducting the first deep space inspection of a crippled U.S. military spacecraft. To do this, it is using sensors on two covert inspection satellites that have been prowling geosynchronous orbit for nearly three years. The failed satellite being examined is the $400 million U.S. Air Force/Northrop Grumman Defense Support Program DSP 23 missile warning satellite. It died in 2008 after being launched successfully from Cape Canaveral in November 2007 on the first operational Delta 4-Heavy booster. Since the U.S. is now demonstrating the ability to do such up close rendezvous...

Nearly three years after the highly complex Delta 4-Heavy rocket flew a test launch to demonstrate its capabilities for hauling hefty cargos to space, the giant booster entered service tonight with a fiery blastoff carrying a national security satellite.