The Midcourse Space Experiment satellite, built more than a decade ago to support the “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative, has done more than track ballistic missile signatures during the “midcourse” flight phase between booster burnout and missile re-entry.

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory scientists observed the bus-sized satellite to create infrared images of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy as well as detailed images of the Hale-Bopp comet.

APL’s program manager for MSX, Glen Baer,  discussed the legacy of the

satellite and what will happen to its remains.

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How well did the partnership work with the Department of Defense?

These are satellites built for a client.

We are operating under their direction.

We have access to the data to do analyses on it.

We’re not restricted to any one part of the data.

It’s an episodic-functioning satellite.

It did nothing unless we told it where to look and collect data.

Then it would look at that part of the sky.

The satellite has no mechanism to

self-destruct or steer into the atmosphere?

Some generation hundreds of years from now is going to have a surprise.

Could that surprise be dangerous?

It’s pretty much speculation, I’d rather not.

Isn’t it ironic that part of its mission was to track space debris?

That was its last mission, to track the man-made satellites in orbit.

There’s a limit to what it can track.

When you say debris, are you talking about bubblegum wrappers or other inactive satellites or fuel tanks?

We’ve already demonstrated our ability to shoot down dangerous satellites. Could this someday be another target for elimination?

I’m sure in another hundred years or so, we’ll figure out some way to take care of the debris.