Senators have argued over and ultimately rejected the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) proposed space-based missile defense test bed once again, likely sealing the fate of efforts to begin studies in fiscal 2008.

Missile defense advocates tried to resurrect MDA's request Oct. 3, but opponents claimed it was another step toward the so-called armed "Star Wars" concept. In particular, Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a vocal missile defense proponent, and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D), an ardent critic, squared off during debate of FY '08 defense appropriations over Kyl's effort to restore the $10 million request.

Kyl eventually withdrew his amendment as it faced significant opposition from top defense appropriator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and other leading Democrats. So far neither House nor Senate defense authorizers, nor House appropriators, have approved or funded MDA's request.

Nevertheless, since China destroyed one of its own satellites in January with a ballistic missile, Kyl has pushed an aggressive defense of MDA budget requests on Capitol Hill and has even criticized Bush administration actions as insufficient (DAILY, Jan. 30). His test bed appropriations push, a repeat effort, follows explicit calls for space-based weapons to defend satellites.

"The United States better get serious about defending our eyes and ears in space," he said. "Other countries have the ability to turn off the lights. If almost everything that do you in military activity is dependent on one thing and that one thing is vulnerable, you obviously want to protect that one thing."

But Dorgan said the test bed funds could be better used elsewhere as threats to U.S. space assets are lower compared with the prospects of weapons of mass destruction being smuggled into the country. MDA wants to spend up to $300 million toward the test bed by 2013, according to Dorgan.

Inouye, who reiterated the "Star Wars" charge, also proclaimed robust funding already existed for space situational awareness spending, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Senate Armed Services strategic subcommittee chairman, said he would work with Kyl for even more.

"The space test bed is intended to deploy weapons in space," Nelson declared. If Kyl wants to defend space assets, there also are other "highly classified," missile defense programs under development and Kyl was welcome to try to boost them. "I don't think he has read into all the programs," Nelson said of Kyl.

In their bill, passed Oct. 1, Senate Armed Services Committee members noted that MDA has not provided Congress a report required ahead of deployment of space-based interceptors, so they were not authorizing the test bed.

Both Senate appropriators and authorizers otherwise provided $17.6 million for "ballistic missile defense system space programs."