The

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

's 5th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron (5 EWS) is a space electromagnetic warfare unit located at

Peterson Space Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force, U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airp ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Mission

The mission of the 5 SSS was to operate the Low Altitude Space Surveillance (LASS) system and Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS) to gather space intelligence and track space systems in both near- and far-Earth orbits.

History

The dual LASS/DSTS operation supported USAF space intelligence requirements, while being assisted by the 18th Intelligence Squadron's Det 4 for

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

support. This coverage augmented worldwide coverage of space signals activities at similarly equipped sites at

Misawa AB is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

, Japan,

Osan AB Hanja:) , partof = , location = , nearest_town = Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province , country = South Korea , image = Osan Air Base 51 FW F-16 A-10 Flyby.jpg , alt = US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon and A-1 ...

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

and at Griffiss AFB in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The Deep Space Tracking System uses sensitive, highly accurate 20-foot dish antennas to detect and track S-band radio signals transmitted by radio beacons on most satellites. There were DSTS receivers located at Griffiss AFB, New York; RAF Feltwell,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

; and

, Japan. The 5 SSS was inactivated in 2003, with administration of RAF Feltwell transferred to Detachment 4, 18th Intelligence Squadron. On 15 April 2022, the 5th Space Control Squadron was redesignated the 5th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron.

Previous designations

*5th Space Control Squadron (2019–2022) *5th Space Surveillance Squadron (1989–2003)

Bases stationed

* RAF Feltwell,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(1989–2003)

List of commanders

*Lt Col Alexander Courtney, June 2021 – Present *Lt Col Susan Bedell, 10 October 2019 – June 2021 *Lt Col John W. Raymond, April 2000 – June 2001 *Lt Col John Amrine, June 1999 – July 2000 *Lt Col Steven R. Prebeck, 28 September 1996 – ??? *Lt Col James L. Burling, Jr., August 1994 – 28 September 1996 *Lt Col Ronald P. Mitchell, 1 October 1990 – ???

Equipment Operated

*Low Altitude Space Surveillance (LASS) (1989–2003) *Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS) (1989–2003)

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...

**1 January 2000 – 31 August 2001 **1 January 1999 – 31 December 1999 **1 January 1998 – 31 December 1998 **1 October 1997 – 30 September 1999 **1 October 1995 – 30 September 1997AFSPC Special Order GA-09, 1 November 1997

References

{{USAF Space Command Squadrons of the United States Space Force