Orbital launches target vehicle for U.S. Missile Defense Agency program

DULLES, Va., 19 April 2006. Orbital Sciences Corp. has launched a two-stage medium-range target vehicle in support of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Critical Measurements/Countermeasures Program, Campaign 2 (CMCM-2). The target vehicle, based on two SR-19 rocket motors, debuted at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on April 13.

Orbital's role in the test was to supply the boost vehicle, integrate the Massachusetts Institute of Technologies/Lincoln Laboratories payload deployment module and re-entry system, integrate an MDA-provided secondary payload and conduct launch operations as contracted by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

It is the second mission that Orbital has conducted as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for MDA's Targets and Countermeasures Program.

The previous mission involved the launch of a Medium Range Target (MRT-1) for the U.S. Navy's Aegis BMD system in November 2005.