Missile-tracking satellite failing in orbit, sources say.

Reinforcing rumors that a year-old missile-defense satellite is falling in orbit, the Air Force has requested proposals for a new, quick-delivery missile warning system. Defense Support Program satellites detect heat plumes from ballistic missiles, tracking their location and trajectory. But the DSP satellite launched last November has been drifting from its original orbit, according to amateur satellite trackers. The DSP failure increases pressure on Lockheed-Martin Corp. to launch its troubled Space-Based Infrared System satellite, now scheduled for 2010. How many more satellites must be launched incorrectly then fall to earth and possibly killing people before realizing the correct orbit trajectory at the initial launch? How many more holes have to be poked through the alredy depleted ozone layer before these launches are reduced or stopped?