U.S. plans to kill program to track objects from space

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to kill a beleaguered multibillion-dollar satellite program to track moving targets from space, a project championed by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, three defense officials and an industry source said on Friday.

The Space Radar program has run into major resistance in Congress in recent years, with lawmakers citing cost and technology concerns about a nine-satellite program that the Air Force initially envisioned to cost $34 billion through 2025, according to globalsecurity.org.

Funding for Space Radar, aimed at giving the military an "eye in the sky" view through all kinds of weather, has already shriveled in recent years and its timeline has been stretched, but now the program in its current form appears doomed.

The Air Force spent $183 million on the program in fiscal year 2007, but zeroed out its budget in 2008 and 2009, asking the Pentagon's National Reconnaissance Office to pay for continued development.

NRO funding is classified but one source said the program received $100 million in fiscal 2008 that ends September 30.

"The NRO plans to remove funding for the program," said a defense official who asked not to be named.

Lockheed Martin Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp are each leading teams bidding for the program. Northrop is supplying the radar for both teams.

Both teams have been working on small-scale concept studies to reduce risks and advance the technology needed for the program. No satellites were ever launched.