Nine years late, the Air Force is finally ready to launch a new
missile-spotting satellite that it says will usher in "a new era
in persistent infrared surveillance." Barring further delays,
the first of four Space-Based Infrared System satellites will
blast off May 6 and climb to an altitude of about 22,200 miles,
where it will park in a geosynchronous orbit and stare at Earth,
watching for missile launches and searching for new military
targets. Air Force Brig. Gen. Roger Teague, chief of the Air
Force Infrared Space Systems Directorate, emphasized the new
satellite's expected capability during a telephone press
conference Tuesday. Infrared sensors on the spacecraft are "so
much more sensitive" than those in use on current missile-
detecting satellites, he said. "They can see much more much
earlier" and they "can see much dimmer targets." Teague said he
could not elaborate on what more the sensors can see or what
dimmer targets might be without disclosing classified
information. Dimmer targets are expected t