Testing concepts and applications for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

The potential application of automatic test concepts to elements of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program, which include ground surveillance tracking satellites, exoatmospheric re-entry interceptor subsystems, and the SDI battle management system which will be used for command, control, and communications, and to simulate and validate the SDI battle concept, is explored. The discussion centers on the technology and possible systems that may benefit from current or future automatic test equipment (ATE) technology, and potential test requirements these systems may carry. Current and projected SDI funding levels, current schedules, and targeted deployment data are also discussed and tied in to the approach, which revolves around the concept of applying automatic testing to the Strategic Defense Initiative