[3] It was reported that several items of debris,[11][12] identified by amateur satellite watchers as remnants of the Delta-2 launch vehicle, had crashed in a field in Mongolia on 19 February 2010.
[13] The perceived advantage of STSS was that its satellites, by operating at a lower altitude and by using long- and short-wave infrared sensors, would be able to acquire and track missiles in midcourse and during the boost phase.
The demonstrators performed experiments and proved out systems and processes to establish a knowledge base for future operational designs.
[18] According to Congressional testimony, military officials believed that STSS had the potential to bolster the nation's missile defense system.
"Two recent flight tests demonstrated that STSS dramatically improved the precision of threat missile attacks and provided more accurate fire control quality data to the Aegis ships several minutes earlier than less accurate data provided by organic radars in the Aegis or THAAD (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) systems", U.S. Army Lt. General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, told the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense subcommittee in prepared testimony on 25 May 2011.
[19] According to Globe Newswire (sourced by Northrop Grumman) press releases, the following is a summary of the STSS Demonstration program satellites' on-orbit performance.
ICBM Minuteman III test launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Pre-determined target launched of Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands Data transmitted at Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.