Looks like MDA is just as confused by the brackets around the $68.0 M for NFIRE as anybody else. Here’s what I can figure out:
- MDA will remove the Kill Vehicle (KV) from NFIRE satellite, leaving just the Tracking Sensor Payload (TSP) onboard,
- MDA will use the NFIRE KV as a ground-based risk reduction asset for the KEI program, and
- The launch date has slipped to 4Q FY06, with fly-bys scheduled for FY07.
Apparently, MDA wants Congress to sign off on the changes, which will have to wait until the appropriate staffers return from the Republican National Convention.
So, we wait.