
S91-50773 (19 Oct 1991) --- At a processing facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite is being transferred into the payload canister transporter for shipment to Launch Pad 39A at KSC. The DSP will be deployed during Space Shuttle Mission STS-44 later this year. It is a surveillance satellite, developed for the Department of Defense, which can detect missile and space launches, as well as nuclear detonations. The Inertial Upper Stage which will boost the DSP satellite to its proper orbital position is the lower portion of the payload. DSP satellites have comprised the spaceborne segment of NORAD's (North American Air Defense Command) Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment System since 1970. STS- 44, carrying a crew of six, will be a ten-day flight.
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NASA ID
s91-50773
Date Created
October 19, 1991
Center
JSC
Media Type
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