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 8th Space Warning Squadron is an

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

warning unit located at

Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First lieutenant, First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units includin ...

, Colorado. The 8th works alongside its active duty counterpart, the 2d Space Warning Squadron, on the

Defense Support Program The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States. DSP satellite ...

and

Space-Based Infrared System The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a United States Space Force system intended to meet the United States' Department of Defense infrared space surveillance needs through the first two to three decades of the 21st century. The SBIRS prog ...

programs.

History

The 8th Missile Warning Squadron was activated on 1 April 1986 at

Eldorado Air Force Station Eldorado Air Force Station located south of San Angelo, Texas was one of the four unique AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS, early-warning phased-array radar systems. The 8th Space Warning Squadron, 21st Space Wing, Air Force Space Command operated at Eldo ...

, Texas, under

Air Force Space Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

. It was reassigned to the

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. The Wing was constituted on 18 Oct 1982 and activated on 1 January 1983 with assignm ...

on 8 May 1987. While at Eldorado, the unit operated the

AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". The first solid-state p ...

Pave Paws radar, provided warning of sea-launched or intercontinental ballistic missile attack against the continental United States or southern Canada. The unit was redesignated as the 8th Space Warning Squadron on 15 May 1992 and reassigned to the

21st Operations Group Mission Delta 2 (MD2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness Space Delta, delta, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Mission Delta 2 tracks and monitors all human made objects from low Earth orbit to geosync ...

. It was reassigned to the

21st Space Wing The 21st Wing (21 WG) is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. 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 i ...

on 8 June 1995 before inactivating on 30 September 1995. It was redesignated as the 8th Space Operations Squadron on 22 August 1997 and briefly activated in the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

under the

310th Space Group 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...

on 1 September 1997 at

Falcon Air Force Base Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schriever Air Force Base, Falcon Air Force Base, and Falcon Air Force Station, is a base of the United States Space Force located approximately east of Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs in E ...

, Colorado. It inactivated there on 1 October 1998. Redesignated as the 8th Space Warning Squadron on 30 July 1999, it was activated in the reserve on 1 October 1999 at

Buckley Air National Guard Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space ...

, Colorado, under the 310 Space Group, 1 Oct 1999.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 8th Missile Warning Squadron on 26 March 1986 : Activated on 1 April 1986 : Redesignated 8th Space Warning Squadron on 15 May 1992 : Inactivated on 30 September 1995 * Redesignated 8th Space Operations Squadron on 22 August 1997 : Activated in the reserve on 1 September 1997 : Inactivated on 1 October 1998 * Redesignated 8th Space Warning Squadron on 30 July 1999 : Activated in the reserve on 1 October 1999

Assignments

* Air Force Space Command, 1 April 1986 *

, 8 May 1987 * 21st Operations Group, 15 May 1992 * 21st Space Wing, 8 June–30 September 1995 * 310th Space Group, 1 September 1997 – 1 October 1998 * 310th Space Group, 1 October 1999 *

310th Operations Group The 310th Space Wing is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The wing is the only space wing in the ...

, 7 March 2008 – present

Stations

* Eldorado Air Force Station (later Eldorado Air Station), Texas, 1 April 1986 – 30 September 1995 * Falcon Air Force Base (later Schriever Air Force Base), Colorado, 1 September 1997 – 1 October 1998 * Buckley Air National Guard Base (later Buckley Air Force Base, then Buckley Space Force Base), Colorado, 1 October 1999 – present

Equipment operated

(???-present) *

(1997–present) * AN/FPS-115

PAVE PAWS PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". The first solid-state ...

(1986–1995)

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force, unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the A ...

: 1 September 1989 – 31 August 1991; 1 October 1992 – 30 September 1994; 4 September 1997 – 1 November 1998

References

External links

460th Space Wing: Buckley AFB home page
Military units and formations in Colorado Space Warning 0008 {{USAF-stub