The Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), already one of the U.S. Defense Department's major test facilities, intends to strengthen its extensive space simulation and testing capability with a new chamber designed to evaluate spacecraft and sensors against man-made threats they may encounter in low Earth or geosyn-chronous orbit.rnAEDC officials already employ sophisticated environmental chambers to learn how satellites will respond to natural threats, such as the extreme heat, cold and radiation of a space mission. The Space Threat Assessment Testbed, being built by Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis and scheduled to begin operating in 2011, will allow AEDC officials to learn how spacecraft will respond to attack.
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