The

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's 111th Space Operations Squadron (111 SOPS) is an

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

space communications unit located at Sky Harbor International Airport,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. 111 SOPS is the military's first unit to operate free-floating balloons in the

near space Near space is the upper region of the Earth's atmosphere between airspace and outer space. It is sometimes referred to as the " edge of space". There is no legal definition for this extent, but typically this is the altitude range from . Rang ...

environment.

Previous designations

* 111th Space Operations Squadron (2003 – present) * Det 2, Arizona Air National Guard (???)

Bases stationed

Sky Harbor International Airport,

(2003 – present)

Equipment Operated

Combat SkySat balloons (2003 – present)World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK.

References

External links

Arizona Air National Guard
{{US Air Force navbox Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard Military units and formations in Arizona Space Operations 0111