a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp

missile-warning satellite built by Northrop Grumman Corp failed in orbit, officials are still investigating what happened. ScienceThe classified Defense Support Program satellite known as DSP 23 was launched into geosynchronous orbit in November 2007 but stopped responding to commands in mid-September last year, as first reported by Reuters in November."There's not that much data available," one U.S. defense official said, describing the current investigation as sophisticated, long-distance detective work."You have to go back and recreate what might have been going on," said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the program. There may never be "great certitude" about what went wrong, he added.Defense officials say possible causes for the failure range from defective parts or software problems, a natural phenomenon like a solar flare, or possibly, although unlikely, debris in space. An intentional attack was also possible, but very unlikely, they said.Citing concerns about a toxic fuel tank, the U.S. government last February shot down a smaller classified satellite that failed due to software problems almost immediately after being launched into orbit in December 2006.As a result of those software concerns, Lockheed Martin Corp was forced to rewrite code for its Space Based Infrared Satellites (SBIRS) that will succeed the DSP program.It was not clear if similar software issues could be behind the latest satellite failure, but officials said that possibility was being closely investigated.Northrop declined to comment on the September failure, referring questions to the U.S Air Force, which owns and operates the satellite. Air Force officials declined to comment.FUTURE VULNERABILITYThe U.S.

government has launched 23 of Northrop's DSP missile-warning satellites since 1970. The program has been restructured several times and its price tag is now seen at well over $11 billion.A second defense official, who also asked not to be named, said existing DSP satellites made by Northrop were functioning well and had a "reasonable probability of remaining OK."But he acknowledged that the U.S. military preferred higher levels of redundancy in such critical systems, and agreed that the September failure raised the prospect of a gap in coverage, especially if other satellites failed prematurely."Although we have generally done well, spacecraft do get older and sooner or later they fail, or we take action to get them out of the way," said the official, who was not authorized to speak about the satellite program.REPLACEMENT SATELLITEThe Pentagon has already asked Congress for $117 million this fiscal year for a new satellite to hedge against a potential gap in satellite coverage around 2014.But the first defense official said he was not convinced about the urgency of the risk and said some might be using the latest satellite failure to secure additional funding for space programs in an increasingly difficult budget environment.Several other military space programs focused on improving communications have had their budgets curtailed sharply in recent years by lawmakers and defense officials after encountering technical problems and cost overruns.Budget pressures may grow even more severe in coming years, given expensive financial bailouts and mounting bills to replace equipment worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan.Both officials said they were concerned that the incoming Obama administration would not make military space programs a big priority, given their high cost and past problems.(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Science. NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Tesoro Corp. (TSO.N) said onTuesday that it was moving up the planned shutdown of its120,000 barrel per day refinery in Anacortes, Washington by amonth to mid-January, a company spokesman said.. Stocks Tesoro also shortened the duration of the work to 30 daysfrom 45 days, said Lynn Westfall "The market is getting better," he said.

Tesoro had increased the scope of the work in late 2008 aspoor demand had depressed margins. (Reporting by Janet McGurty; Editing by David Gregorio) Stocks. Sikorsky Aerospace Services Announces $4M Contract to Provide PresidentialAirways with Heads Up Display SystemsTRUMBULL, Conn., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ Sikorsky Aerospace Services todayannounced the signing of a $4 million contract with Presidential Airways toprovide Heads Up Display (HUD) systems.

The distribution of these systems willbe performed by Helicopter Support Inc., a Sikorsky Aerospace Servicescompany. Sikorsky Aerospace Services is the aftermarket business of SikorskyAircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).(Logo: http:// )Heads Up Display allows pilots to see flight instruments and other helicopterinformation through an eyepiece in their helmet without having to look down atthe instrument panel. The system can be used during day and night operations."The HUD systems are an innovative technology designed to promote safermissions because pilots can maintain a forward-looking focus," said FrankDiPasquale, Vice President, Business Development, Sikorsky Aerospace Services."We are pleased to be able to provide Presidential with a solution that meetstheir mission requirements. This is their first order for HUD units, and welook forward to continuing this successful business relationship." Presidential Airways is a Worldwide Services company based in North Carolina. Sikorsky Aerospace Services provides comprehensive support to rotary and fixedwing aircraft around the world.