Glitch delays missile defense test -- Pentagon

Glitch delays missile defense test -- Pentagon
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

WASHINGTON, JULY 8: A glitch has been discovered in the missile that is to be used as a target in a crucial test of the National Missile Defense System, causing a launch-delay of at least two hours, the Pentagon said on Friday. ``An anomaly was discovered in a telemetry battery of the target vehicle. It is being fixed right now. But the earliest possible launch of the target vehicle will be shortly after midnight (0400 GMT Saturday),'' Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The target is a Minuteman II missile, set to be launched late on Friday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where a four-hour launch window opens at 10 pm Eastern Standard Time (0200 GMT Saturday).

Another missile is to attempt to intercept the target in space over the Pacific. The delay leaves the Pentagon with only a two-hour window to conduct the test.