alienation news

Strategic Defense Initiative scopes Columbia before disintegration

A telescope at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque photographed the space shuttle Columbia in its last minutes using missile defense technology to capture stunningly acute images.
"For security reasons, we don't want people to know exactly how good we can do this," said Rich Garcia, a spokesman for Starfire, which is operated by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Mr. Garcia said he could not say whether Starfire had been asked to monitor the Columbia or whether its equipment just happened to catch a glimpse of the shuttle before its breakup. The installation, based on technology developed as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative, is used for astronomical observation and tracking satellites.