[2] In 1962, the US Navy launched Caleb rockets as part of the Satellite Interceptor Program, with the objective of developing an anti-satellite weapon.

A modified United States Army Nike Zeus missile successfully intercepted an orbiting satellite in May 1963.

[6] A nuclear-armed Thor anti-satellite system deployed by the Air Force under Program 437 eventually replaced the Project 505 Nike Zeus in 1967.

The LTV Aerospace design featured a multi-stage missile with an infrared homing kinetic energy warhead.

[9] A modified Boeing AGM-69 SRAM missile with a Lockheed Propulsion Company LPC-415 solid propellant two pulse rocket motor was used as the first stage of the ASM-135 ASAT.

[12] A Honeywell ring laser gyroscope was used for spin rate determination and to obtain an inertial timing reference before the MHV separated from the second stage.

As the detector was spun, the infrared target's position could be measured as it crossed the strips in the sensor's field of view.

Direct Proportional Line of Sight guidance used information from the detector to maneuver and null out any line-of-sight change.

The half charge 8 "end-game" motors were used to perform finer trajectory adjustments just prior to intercepting the target satellite.

[13] Earlier the U.S. Air Force and NASA had worked together to develop a Scout-launched target vehicle for ASAT experiments.

NASA advised the U.S. Air Force on how to conduct the ASAT test to avoid producing long-lived debris.

[13] In order to complete an ASAT test before an expected Congressional ban took effect (as it did in October 1985), the DoD chose to use the existing Solwind astrophysics satellite as a target.

[13] NASA worked with the DoD to monitor the effects of the tests using two orbital debris telescopes and a reentry radar deployed to Alaska.

NASA Scientists theorized that the unexpected Solwind darkening was due to carbonization of organic compounds in the target satellite; that is, when the kinetic energy of the projectile became heat energy on impact, the plastics inside Solwind vaporized and condensed on the metal pieces as soot.

[13] NASA used U.S. Air Force infrared telescopes to show that the pieces were warm with heat absorbed from the Sun.

[15] The Air Force continued to test the ASAT system in 1986, but stayed within the limits of the ban by not engaging a space-borne target.

[7] In 1988, the Reagan Administration canceled the ASM-135 program because of technical problems, testing delays, and significant cost growth.