SDI national test bed status and projections

The NTB (national test bed) is a primary element of the five-year, SDI (strategic defense initiative) effort. It is actually a concept of facility utilization, rather than only a nationwide network of research facilities. Its purpose is to study concepts and technologies of ballistic missile defense using computer simulations built from very large databases. Various aspects of NTB development are briefly discussed; the national test facility (NTF), its hardware basis, is described in detail. The wideband telecommunications links, the assessment of NTB accuracy, and NTF processing requirements are all covered