One of the more distressing proposals in the U.S. Defense De-partment's budget request for 2013 is the cancellation of a program that since 1965 has been used to match promising space technologies and experiments with rides to orbit. The venerable Space Test Program, or STP, is credited with en-abling some of the most important space technology break-throughs, including GPS, but more routinely provides a means to demonstrate incremental improvements to satellite components such as batteries and cooling systems. The program also serves as a launch-services broker of sorts for secondary payloads. Despite its proven value over the years and relatively low cost - its 2012 budget is $47 million - STP was deemed expendable by Pentagon planners who are coping with the toughest fiscal en-vironment in recent memory. While the overall Defense Depart-ment request protects the big satellite programs that provide must-have capabilities such as missile warning and communica-tions, those that do not provide immediate benefits are being sac-rificed. These include STP and Operationally Responsive Space, which was making headway in demonstrating a new paradigm for satellite development and operations.
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