Still, ALTB Group Wins Prestigious Air Force Award
The Missile Defense Agency executed the Flight Experiment Laser
(FEL-01b) mission at the Point Mugu flight test range off the
Southern California coast on September 1st. The objective of this
mission was for the Agency's Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) to
destroy a liquid-fuel, short-range ballistic missile during its
boost phase. During the mission the Boeing 747 flying laser
laboratory detected and tracked the target. However, the experiment
terminated early when corrupted beam control software steered the
high energy laser slightly off center.
747 Airborne Laser Testbed File Photo
The agency is continuing to analyzing the failure. Preliminary
indications are that a communication software error within the
system that controls the laser beam caused misalignment of the
beam. The ALTB safety system detected this shift and immediately
shut down the high energy laser.
The Agency plans to resume flight experiments beginning with
tests of the software repair on September 13 leading to a lethal
shootdown experiment involving a solid-fuel target missile by the
end of this month. A mid-October experiment is in the planning
stages that will involve lasing a solid-fuel missile at three times
the range of last February's successful destruction of a
liquid-fuel missile.
File Photo
Even though this test was not completely successful, the Boeing
Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) team received the 2010 Theodore Von
Karman Award at the Air Force Association’s (AFA) Air &
Space Conference and Technology Exposition in National Harbor on
Monday. The annual award is the AFA’s highest honor in the
field of science and engineering and recognizes the team’s
achievements in directed energy research and development.
"It is an honor to represent Boeing’s Airborne Laser team
as it is recognized for this significant industry award," said ALTB
Program Manager Rich Flanders. "This is a testament to the historic
breakthroughs that this program has made, and to the outstanding
work of the entire team."
ALTB is being developed as an advanced platform for the
Department of Defense’s directed energy research program. In
February, the ALTB team made history when it shot down a ballistic
missile in its boost phase. The February experiment was the first
of its kind, and ALTB has successfully engaged a total of eight
missiles to date. With each experiment, the team continues to make
breakthroughs in the application of laser technologies -- such as
advanced optics, beam control and pointing -- that are critically
important to the future capabilities of U.S. warfighters and their
allies.
File Photo
"The Airborne Laser team is not only a leader in the field of
directed energy applications, but continues to raise the bar," AFA
President Mike Dunn said at the awards ceremony. "The milestones
you have already achieved prove the great potential for directed
energy technologies."
Other ALTB team representatives at the event included Guy
Renard, Northrop Grumman ALTB program manager, and Chris Cirves,
Lockheed Martin ALTB deputy program manager. Northrop Grumman
designed and built the ALTB's high-energy laser, while Lockheed
Martin developed the beam control/fire control system. Boeing
provided the aircraft, the battle management system and overall
systems integration and testing.