Near Field Infrared Experiment

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NFIRE is a weapons program at the Missile Defense Agency, a division of the United States Department of Defense. NFIRE will be funded by $68 million in 2005. Though primarily designed to gather data on exhaust plumes from rocket launches, the satellite was also intended to contain a kill vehicle similar to kinds intended for the Strategic Defense Initiative.

In 2004, the US House of Representatives instructed the Missile Defense Agency, MDA, to remove the kill vehicle from the planned 2006 NFIRE launch. The Senate Appropriations Committee reviewing the NFIRE program, however, urged the MDA to return the missile defense interceptor (kill vehicle) to the originally scheduled test, despite the controversial perception of this leading to the deployment of weapons in space. The committee, which approved $13.7 million for the NFIRE program, told the MDA to “complete development and mission integration of the deployable NFIRE Kill Vehicle.”

Despite the recommendation made by the Senate Appropriations Committee, the MDA has removed the kill vehicle portion of the planned test, saying it posed a risk of technical failure.