Interceptor missile fails to launch in test
WASHINGTON The first full flight test of the national missile defense system in nearly two years failed early today. An interceptor rocket didn't even get off the ground.
The rocket was supposed to be launched from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean and hit a mock warhead that had been fired from Alaska 16 minutes earlier.
However the Missile Defense Agency says the interceptor experienced an "unknown anomaly" and shut itself down. The agency is giving no other details.
The military is in final preparations to activate the system, which is designed to protect against an intercontinental ballistic missile attack from North Korea or elsewhere in eastern Asia.
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