US test-fires Aegis missile defence system destined for Europe - Video

A previous test of the Aegis missile defence system, a version of which is to be stationed in Europe by the US and Nato. 

Photograph: AP

The United States has announced the first live firing test of a missile interceptor destined to be stationed initially in Romania and then elsewhere in Europe.

The test of the system, known as Aegis, comes amid tensions between Nato and Russia over the annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.

The Obama administration's current European Phased Adaptive Approach calls for the first Aegis Ashore site to be operational in Romania in 2015, with a second site to follow in Poland in 2018.


The test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Hawaii late on Tuesday marked a significant milestone for the system, which is designed to protect US and Nato forces in Europe from a ballistic missile attack.

A Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Steve Warren, said the test "is important because it's similar to the system that's being shipped to Romania for deployment by the end of next year".

During the test the Aegis system used on US warships around the world detected, tracked and engaged a simulated ballistic missile target using Raytheon's Standard Missile 3 Block IB, according to the US Missile Defence Agency and the companies.

Lockheed said it was the first test of the Aegis system using a land-based missile launcher.

Riki Ellison, founder of the non-profit Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, said the test meant Nato's missile defence shield, developed at a cost of around US$800m, was becoming a reality.

He said the Aegis missile defence system had achieved 28 successful test intercepts over the past 11 years.

Shipment of components required for the facility that will house the Aegis Ashore weapon in Romania, including the deckhouse, radar and vertical launch system, would begin this summer, said Missile Defence Agency spokesman Rick Lehner. Interceptors would follow when the facility was built, he said.

The land-based system uses the same SM-3 missile deployed on Aegis warships and holds 24 SM-3 missiles at one time. The system could be expanded to hold more launchers and missiles, Raytheon said.

Russia has previously criticised US plans to put missile defence systems in nearby countries and the Obama administration subsequently scaled back the programme, which had originally included ground-based radar and interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Secretive Blue Origin Test-Fires Rocket Engine - Video

The secretive private spaceflight company Blue Origin founded by billionaire Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has successfully test-fired a new engine for commercial rockets that may one day help launch astronauts and cargo into orbit, NASA officials said today (Dec. 3).

A video of the recent rocket firing provides a rare peek at the company's work in progress. Little is publicly known about the space vehicles being developed by Blue Origin, which is based in Kent, Wash., and was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000.

The Nov. 20 rocket engine test at Blue Origin's facility in Van Horn, Texas, was aimed at simulating a mission on the company's suborbital New Shepard vehicle, NASA officials said.

The spaceship — which is named in honour of Alan Shepard, the first American in space — consists of two reusable modules, one for the crew and one for the propulsion systems.

During the test, Blue Origin's so-called BE-3 engine was fired at full power for two and a half minutes to mimic a launch, producing 110,000 pounds of thrust.

After the initial burn, the hydrogen- and oxygen-fueled engine stopped for about four minutes to simulate a coast through space before a short final burn.

This last firing tested the systems intended to bring the booster back for a controlled vertical landing.

Guiding the rocket back to the ground safely would allow it to be refurbished and used again for another mission.

The BE-3 engine will also be incorporated into Blue Origin's planned Orbital Launch Vehicle, a rocket that will loft the company's cone-shaped Space Vehicle into orbit.

That spacecraft could eventually carry astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA officials said.


Blue Origin is a partner in NASA's Commercial Crew Program, along with other private companies like SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp.

The program aims to help the aerospace industry develop systems to ferry astronauts to the space station.

With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, the United States currently relies on Russian Soyuz vehicles to bring astronauts to the orbiting outpost.

"Working with NASA accelerated our BE-3 development by over a year in preparation for flight testing on our New Shepard suborbital system and ultimately on vehicles carrying humans to low-Earth orbit," Rob Meyerson, president and program manager of Blue Origin, said in a statement.

Rob Meyerson

"The BE-3 is a versatile, low-cost hydrogen engine applicable to NASA and commercial missions."

Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight development, added that Blue Origin has made steady progress since the start of its partnership with the space agency.