Three decades after Ronald Reagan launched his "Star Wars" project, the costly missile defense program has become a pillar of US strategy despite lingering doubts about its technology.
No longer designed to counter a Soviet nuclear attack, the anti-missile network is supposed to thwart a "limited attack" from North Korea or Iran. But numerous experts question if the system even works.
While Reagan's blueprint provoked bitter debate in the 1980s, today's program is now firmly entrenched in Washington. The project, however, still requires a daunting technical feat -- to hit a ballistic missile travelling outside the atmosphere with another missile.
Supported by advanced radar, SM-3 interceptors aboard 26 naval ships and ground-based interceptors in silos in Alaska and California are designed to collide with long-range missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), as they speed through space.
Read the full story at SpaceDaily