Official U.S. Navy file photo Capt. Randall Hendrickson, commanding officer of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70), observes Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Bates, the ship's tactical action officer, conduct a practice engagement in the combat information center during a ballistic missile defense drill several days prior to the successful intercept of a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite. Throughout the practice sessions and the actual mission event, NSWCDD personnel stationed locally in Dahlgren, at the Combat Systems Engineering Development Station, and at the Pacific Missile Range Facility were in constant communication with ship's force, reviewing data and optimizing system performance.

‘‘Our engineers ensured the modified computer programs were removed from USS Lake Erie, USS Decatur, and USS Russell,” said Scott Such, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) Aegis BMD Program Director. ‘‘They returned each ship to a tactical configuration to continue their missions protecting the interests of the United States and our allies.”

Lake Erie crewmembers used the modified Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Aegis weapon system to fire a missile that struck the satellite orbiting 130 miles over the Pacific Ocean. The strike destroyed the satellite’s fuel tank, preventing 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine from spilling in a populous region.

The Decatur and Russell – also outfitted with the capability to shoot down a satellite traveling more than 17,000 miles per hour - were ready to fire if one or more of the three Aegis-class cruisers could not execute the mission due to mechanical or other unknown conditions.

“What the combined team of engineers, programmers, trainers and ship's force accomplished in seven weeks was nothing short of phenomenal,“ said Lt. Cmdr. Chuck Coryell, an NSWCDD Aegis Fleet Support Officer, who deployed aboard USS Decatur.

“The drumbeat of decaying orbits did not allow for investigation into the fundamentals of our capabilities - it required action, and quick action,” added Reuben Pitts, Combat System Certification Authority and Chairman of the Mission Control Panel. ‘‘I do not believe that there is a technical team in the world that could have adjusted course so quickly and accurately, and this course adjustment required mastery of the fundamentals.”

Immediately after “Mark India“, was declared, announcing the intercept, NSWCDD personnel calculated the exact hit point of the kinetic warhead using data collected from SM-3 telemetry and other sensor assets. This was a critical component in determining mission success.

Before the mission began, a team – including NSWCDD Aegis BMD experts - studied the feasibility of intercepting the failed satellite. The Aegis BMD program office at Dahlgren was then called to build computer program disks and tapes for delivery to the three ships.

‘‘The simple facts were that the satellite was coming down in early March, we were unable to control where or when, and there was significant risk to the population,” said Such. ‘‘Our team understood this and were resolved to do whatever was needed to minimize the risk of casualties.“

NSWCDD installation teams installed and checked out modified computer programs pier side. Government-industry teams working with sailors aboard the three ships evaluated system performance at sea by tracking the dying 5,000 pound satellite as it passed overhead.

Navy Capt. Randall M. Hendrickson, the Lake Erie's commanding officer, told reporters that his crew worked intensively for a month and a half before the shootdown.

“We kept working up with a team of government experts and technicians, as well as industry partners,“ said Hendrickson.

The group worked to gather information and modify the SM-3 and the Aegis weapon system, he said, adding that they started tracking the satellite at different times to get radar cross-section data, which helped build the program software.

“Obviously there was a lot of anticipation building up each time we practiced, each time we tracked,“ said Hendrickson.

Throughout the practice sessions and the actual mission event, NSWCDD personnel stationed locally in Dahlgren, at the Combat Systems Engineering Development Station, and at the Pacific Missile Range Facility were in constant communication with ship's force, reviewing data and optimizing system performance.

‘‘From the very first day, the Aegis BMD team focused on delivering a capability that was safe and effective for ship's force to employ,“ said Such. “They also knew they had to be right the first time.”

NSWCDD personnel chaired shipboard and pier side configuration control boards, providing critical support needed to ensure that all three ships had the same tools and capability to complete the mission should one or more be unable to support mission execution.

NSWCDD engineers worked side by side with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU⁄APL), Lockheed Martin, Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWCPHD), Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division, Raytheon, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program Directorate (PD452), Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Combat Systems Engineering Development Station (CSEDS), and others to ensure USS Lake Erie's success.

“I see the talent within the Aegis BMD and NSWCDD communities on a daily basis,” said Such. ‘‘They are repeatedly asked to do the impossible yet somehow they manage to translate these challenges into the realm of the possible, and then they deliver solutions. This team is truly a national asset and I am very proud to play a small part in it.“