The Missile Defense Agency last week released a video of the Airborne Laser test aircraft engaging a target missile with its high-energy kill laser during a non-lethal test on Jan. 10 off of the California coast. According to MDA, this exercise “demonstrated the full functionality of the ABL system to successfully acquire, track, and engage a boosting target.” The purpose of this test was not to shoot down the instrumented target missile, but rather collect data on the performance of the ABL’s high-energy laser in support of the preparations for the first lethal missile-shootdown attempt later this year. (To see the video, go to MDA’s Airborne Laser news gallery.)
The Space Force awarded three contracts for rocket launches worth up to a combined $13.68 billion on April 4—and the usual players SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have got some competition in the form of newcomer Blue Origin.