![]() 4 Boost-phase missile defense-targeting missiles in their first and most vulnerable stage of flight-would require hundreds or thousands of interceptors. 3 But earlier this year, the Union of Concerned Scientists identified a common mistake in interpreting IDA's results: a constellation of 24 satellites could only be useful for midcourse missile defense-intercepting missiles after their engines finish burning and before they re-enter the atmosphere. When an SBI system is modeled, these constraints work together to greatly limit the efficiency of any interceptor constellation and increase the required number interceptors on orbit to offer coverage to threat regions on the Earth's surface.Īdvocates for deploying a constellation of SBIs often cite the findings from a classified 2011 Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) report to support their claim that SBIs could offer effective boost-phase missile defense at a reasonable cost. The range of a space-based interceptor-the distance it can travel away from its initial position on orbit-is limited by how fast the interceptor can maneuver out of orbit, the amount of propellant onboard, and the allotted time before it must reach its target. 2 In a hit-to-kill SBI system, these orbiting interceptors fire thrusters and change their trajectory in order to hit their targets. One of the space-based missile interceptor (SBI) systems most commonly proposed is a "hit-to-kill" model, where interceptors destroy missiles or warheads during flight using the kinetic energy of impact. A constellation of this size would work, however, for space-based sensor (SBS) systems, which could observe missiles during their midcourse phase as long as they can maintain line-of-sight contact.įor almost 40 years, missile defense advocates in the United States have envisioned a constellation of satellites positioned in overlapping orbits around the Earth and loaded with weapons designed to intercept missiles before they reach their targets.A similar constellation could work for limited midcourse-phase missile defense, but not all threat regions could be covered by the same architecture and midcourse intercepts are difficult, requiring detailed tracking and target discrimination data to avoid being fooled by decoys.Hundreds or thousands of satellites would be needed to provide continuous coverage of even a small threat region like North Korea. ![]() A 24-satellite constellation is too small for boost-phase missile defense.1 A better question is how could a satellite constellation of this size best contribute to U.S. Despite some missile defense advocates' claims that 24 satellites could form the basis of a boost-phase space-based missile interceptor (SBI) system, many physicists do not agree. ![]()
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