Kinetic Energy Interceptors Team Completes Successful Rocket Motor Test
08-NEWS-0080
September 25, 2008
Lieutenant General Henry “Trey” Obering III, Missile Defense Agency director, announced today the completion of a successful static firing test of the Kinetic Energy Interceptor’s (KEI) second stage rocket motor. The KEI industry team fired the rocket motor in a cold temperature environment at the ATK test facility in Elkton, Md., demonstrating KEI’s ability to operate in cold weather conditions.
The rocket motor burned successfully for its designed full duration, and the initial assessment is that all test objectives were met and the rocket motor matched performance expectations. This success provides additional confidence in KEI’s booster design and represents significant progress toward the first booster flight test planned for 2009.
The KEI is a high-acceleration ballistic missile interceptor technology designed to defeat medium- to long-range ballistic missiles during their boost, ascent and midcourse phases of flight. KEI is designed to be a mobile, globally deployable system to provide the United States with advanced capabilities against future ballistic missile threats.
News media point of contact is Rick Lehner, Missile Defense Agency, at (703) 697-8997 or richard.lehner@mda.mil.
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