18th Surveillance Squadron
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18th Surveillance Squadron
The 18th Space Defense Squadron (18 SDS) is a United States Space Force Space Domain Awareness unit located at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The 18th SDS is tasked with executing command and control of the space surveillance network (SSN), maintaining the resident space object (RSO) database and managing United States Space Command's space situational awareness (SSA) sharing program to United States, foreign government, commercial, and academic entities. The squadron also conducts advanced analysis, sensor optimization, conjunction assessment, human spaceflight support, reentry/break-up assessment, and launch analysis. Mission The mission of the 18th SDS is to provide and advance a continuous, comprehensive, and combat-relevant understanding of the space situation. The squadron processes SSN data to monitor all activity to, in, and from space, and maintains custody of all resident space objects. Primary mission functions include launch detection and tracking, con ...
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Space Domain Awareness
Space domain awareness is the study and monitoring of satellites orbiting the earth. It involves the detection, tracking, cataloging and identification of artificial objects, i.e. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. Aims Space domain awareness accomplishes the following: * Predicting when and where a decaying space object will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere; * Preventing a returning space object, which to radar looks like a missile, from triggering a false alarm in missile-attack warning sensors; * Charting the present position of space objects and plot their anticipated orbital paths; * Detecting new man-made objects in space; * Producing a running catalogue of man-made space objects; * Determining which country owns a re-entering space object; * Informing countries whether or not objects may interfere with satellites and International Space Station orbits; * Providing data for future anti-satellite weapons systems. Systems Systems in ...
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Space Debris
Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacecraft—nonfunctional spacecraft and abandoned launch vehicle stages—mission-related debris, and particularly numerous in Earth orbit, fragmentation debris from the breakup of derelict rocket bodies and spacecraft. In addition to derelict human-made objects left in orbit, other examples of space debris include fragments from their disintegration, erosion and collisions or even paint flecks, solidified liquids expelled from spacecraft, and unburned particles from solid rocket motors. Space debris represents a risk to spacecraft. Space debris is typically a negative externality—it creates an external cost on others from the initial action to launch or use a spacecraft in near-Earth orbit—a cost that is typically not taken into account ...
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Combined Space Operations Center
The Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) is a U.S.–led multinational space operations center that provides command and control of space forces for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command. The CSpOC is located at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Mission The mission of the Combined Space Operations Center is to "Execute operational command and control of space forces to achieve theater and global objectives." Structure The Combined Space Operations Center is organized into six different elements: * Combat Operations Division (COD): responsible for executing the space tasking order and performing command and control of space forces. * Strategy and Plans Division (SPD): creates the Joint Space Operations Plan (JSOP), the Space Operations Directive (SOD), Master Space Plan (MSP), Operational Assessments (OA), Combined Space Tasking Orders (CSTO), as well as any other special instructions and standards. It not only plans space operations, but also integr ...
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Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station
Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (CMSFS) is located in Cheyenne Mountain on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to Colorado Springs, The Cheyenne Mountain Complex, an underground facility within Cheyenne Mountain SFS, was first built for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Combat Operations Center, though NORAD moved day-to-day operations to its headquarters on Peterson AFB in 2006. However, day-to-day operations were moved back in 2011 after a major overhaul and renovation. The location now supports U.S. Space Command's Missile Warning Center, other strategic warning and survivable capabilities, and provides a ready alternative operating location for NORAD's command center. Background Until 2006, Cheyenne Mountain was the center for the United States Space Command and NORAD which monitored the air space of Canada and the United States through a worldwide system for early warnings of missiles, space ...
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United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps (United States Army), Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, airlift, rapid global mobility, Strategic bombing, global strike, and command and control. The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the United States Department of the Air Force, De ...
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21st Operations Group
Space Delta 2 (DEL 2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness delta and is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Space Delta 2 tracks and monitors all manmade objects from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit and further out to deep space. It also partners with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide weather satellite observation for the U.S. Armed Forces. It consists of the 18th Space Control Squadron, 20th Space Control Squadron, and 21st Operations Support Squadron. Space Delta 2 was originally established on 1 February 1942 as the 21st Bombardment Group (21 BG), flying the B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder in antisubmarine patrols during World War II. After the 21 BG inactivated in 1943, the 21st Fighter Group (21 FG) was activated in 1943 in Hawaii, flying the P-39 Aerocobra, P-38 Lightning, and P-51 Mustang during the Battle of Iwo Jima and escorting bombers during air raids on Japan until the 21 FS was inacti ...
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21st Space Wing
The 21st Space Wing (21 SW) was the United States Space Force's ground–based missile warning and space control wing. The 21st Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The 21st Space Wing controlled Peterson Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Thule Air Base, Clear Air Force Station, Cape Cod Air Force Station, and Cavalier Air Force Station. It was established in 1953 as the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing, deploying to Europe to join NATO's Allied Command Europe, before being inactivated in 1958. It reactivated in 1958 as the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, executing air defense operations over Japan and deterring North Korea, being inactivated in 1960. It was reactivated in 1966 as the 21st Composite Wing, and in 1979 redesignated the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, performing air defense, close air support, and a variety of other missions in Alaska, before being redesignated the 21st Wing and being ina ...
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73rd Space Group
The 73d Space Group is an inactive United States Air Force space surveillance organization. Its last assignment was with Fourteenth Air Force, being stationed at Falcon Air Force Base, Colorado. It was inactivated on 26 April 1995. The Group performed space surveillance. In April 1995 the 73d Space Surveillance Group merged with the 21st Space Wing. From that point the 21st became the largest wing in the United States Air Force with units deployed throughout the world. History The group was first organized at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado on 1 January 1967 as the 73d Aerospace Surveillance Wing, joining the 71st Surveillance Wing as one of the two wings in Air Defense Command's 9th Aerospace Defense Division, which was responsible for the Air Force's contribution to the defense of North America to space oriented attack. The 71st Wing, which was soon renamed the 71st Missile Warning Wing, was responsible for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, while the 73rd focused ...
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Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Edwards, California. The base was named after World War II USAAF veteran and test pilot Capt. Glen Edwards in 1950; prior to then the facility was named Muroc Air Force Base. It is the home of the Air Force Test Center, Air Force Test Pilot School, and NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. It is the Air Force Materiel Command center for conducting and supporting research and development of flight, as well as testing and evaluating aerospace systems from concept to combat. It also hosts many test activities conducted by America's commercial aerospace industry. Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's flight that broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, test flights of the North American X-15, the first landings of th ...
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73d Space Group
The 73d Space Group is an inactive United States Air Force space surveillance organization. Its last assignment was with Fourteenth Air Force, being stationed at Falcon Air Force Base, Colorado. It was inactivated on 26 April 1995. The Group performed space surveillance. In April 1995 the 73d Space Surveillance Group merged with the 21st Space Wing. From that point the 21st became the largest wing in the United States Air Force with units deployed throughout the world. History The group was first organized at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado on 1 January 1967 as the 73d Aerospace Surveillance Wing, joining the 71st Surveillance Wing as one of the two wings in Air Defense Command's 9th Aerospace Defense Division, which was responsible for the Air Force's contribution to the defense of North America to space oriented attack. The 71st Wing, which was soon renamed the 71st Missile Warning Wing, was responsible for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, while the 73rd focused ...
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1st Space Wing
The 1st Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1983 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command.Lineage at USAF FOIA site
The Wing was constituted on 18 Oct 1982 and activated on 1 January 1983 with assignment to Space Command (later, Air Force Space Command). It was inactivated on 15 May 1992 along with the , also at Peterson AFB, and the , a unit with a more historic lineage, took their place.


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*1st Space Support Group ...
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GEODSS
The United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detects, tracks, catalogs and identifies artificial objects orbiting Earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. The system is the responsibility of United States Space Command and operated by the United States Space Force. Space surveillance accomplishes the following: * Predict when and where a decaying space object will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere; * Prevent a returning space object, which to radar looks like a missile, from triggering a false alarm in missile-attack warning sensors of the U.S. and other countries; * Chart the present position of space objects and plot their anticipated orbital paths; * Detect new artificial objects in space; * Correctly map objects traveling in Earth orbit; * Produce a running catalog of artificial space objects; * Determine ownership of a re-entering space object; * Inform NASA whether or not objects may interfere with the International Space S ...
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