How did last week’s $100 million test fail? Two infrared sensors intended to guide the kill vehicle to its target apparently shut down in the last six seconds of flight, causing it to miss. In a preliminary test last October, the killer rocket did intercept a ballistic missile; but last week’s was the first test of the entire anti-missile system. Only one more test is scheduled, for May, before President Clinton must decide whether to order deployment of the National Missile Defense System by 2005. A review panel led by the former Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Larry Welch, has consistently warned that the fast-track timetable guarantees “a rush to failure.”
