CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first stage of the Delta II rocket in the background waits for the mobile service tower and the solid rocket boosters (top foreground) that will be attached. The Delta II is the launch vehicle for the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft. The STSS Demonstrators is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator and is part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency on July 29. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Location Cape Canaveral, FL
Date April 16, 2009