Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : ‘Star Wars’ Test Deemed Successful

The Defense Department conducted a successful nine-minute test of “Star Wars” anti-missile technology with instruments lofted by a small research rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Army said. The 29-foot Aries rocket was to have been launched Aug. 23 as the second in a series, but the flight was postponed several times after the first rocket veered off course after launch and was destroyed Aug. 20. The $10-million experiment, part of a project code-named Red Tigress, spread targets and decoys from 62 to 248 miles high about 100 miles east of the Florida coast. Data recorded during the test will be used in designing sensors for satellites proposed as part of a space-based missile defense system. The Aries is made by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Chandler, Ariz.