Two days ago the NFIRE satellite was launched from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. After the launch US Department of Defense people said that the NFIRE satellite would be researching heat signatures of rocket plumes. It was immediately suggested by critics of NFIRE that the project would be a stepping stone towards creating the long sought after US missile defense shield. after the launch of the NFIRE satellite system Vladimir Putin threatens to pull Russia out of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty. Putin claims his threat is in response to US plans to develop a missile defense shield.

The Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia launched the NFIRE satellite yesterday. The NFIRE satellite is designed to watch ground based missiles. The acronym stands for Near Field Infared Experiment and will be studying images of plumes from missile launches. Supporters of the program (Missile Defense Agency, Defense Department) claim that the project is only for research and testing purposes. Critics (Russia, China, Helen Caldicott) says that the testing is part of the missile defense shield project and an irrevocable step towards the milit