Initial understanding of the test failure is that the Airborne Laser Test Bed, located in the front of a converted Boeing 747, followed the target missile's emissions plume but then failed to pass the information to another "active tracking" system as required before the laser could be activated, MDA spokesman Richard Lehner said.
"The transition didn't happen," Lehner said. "Therefore, the high-energy lasing did not occur" (Jim Wolf, Reuters, Oct. 21).
Agency officials will work to identify the cause of the powerful chemical laser's "transition failure," according to a press release. "The intermittent performance of a valve within the laser system is being examined" (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release, Oct. 21). M
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20101022_4495.php
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