Cape Cod Space Force Station is a

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the Space force, space service branch of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only inde ...

station located in the northwest corner of Joint Base Cape Cod, United States, on Flatrock Hill in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Cape Cod Space Force Station began construction in 1976 as Cape Cod Missile Early Warning Station and was renamed Cape Cod Air Force Station in 1982, before assuming its current name in 2021. Missile warning and space surveillance operations are conducted by Space Delta 4's 6th Space Warning Squadron while base administration is the responsibility of Buckley Garrison.

History

On 27 August 1973, the United States Air Force directed the construction of two phased array missile warning radar systems, specifically to defend against the launch of

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

s. On 23 May 1975 it was announced that the east coast site would be located at

Otis Air Force Base Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comic ...

at Cape Cod and the west coast site would be located at

Beale Air Force Base Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. It is located outside Linda, about east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City, and about north of Sacramento. The ...

. Construction on the Cape Cod Missile Warning Station began on 26 October 1976. On 1 October 1979, the

6th Missile Warning Squadron The 6th Space Warning Squadron is located at Cape Cod Space Force Station, in Sagamore, Massachusetts. It operates the PAVE PAWS radar to watch for missiles launched toward North America. The squadron is assigned to Space Delta 4. The squadron wa ...

and 2165th Communications Squadron were established and the facility became operational on 4 April 1980 under

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

21st Air Division The 21st Air Division (21st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 23 September 1983. History World W ...

. On 1 December 1979, Aerospace Defense Command's missile warning and space surveillance radars were transferred to

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...

, with Cape Cod Missile Warning Station becoming part of the

45th Air Division The 45th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire. It was inactivated on 14 June 1989. History As the 45th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one ...

. On 5 January 1982, Cape Cod Missile Warning Station's name was changed to Cape Cod Air Force Station and became part of

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

's 1st Space Wing on 1 May 1983. In 1986, the 2165th Communications Squadron was merged into the 6th Missile Warning Squadron. On 15 May 1992, the 6th Missile Warning Squadron was redesignated as the 6th Space Warning Squadron and reassigned to the

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 ...

's 21st Operations Group. On 20 December 2019, the 6th Space Warning Squadron became part of the United States Space Force and on 24 July 2020, the 6th Space Warning Squadron became part of Space Delta 4 and Buckley Garrison became responsible for installation support. On 11 June 2021, Cape Cod Air Force Station was renamed Cape Cod Space Force Station.

Units

6th Space Warning Squadron

The 6th Space Warning Squadron is responsible for operating the AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar and is part of Space Delta 4. The 6th Space Warning Squadron has been the host unit at Cape Cod Space Force Station since 1979. In addition to Space Force guardians, there are a number of

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...

airmen and airwomen assigned to the squadron. The primary mission of the squadron is to guard the United States and Canadian east coast against sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile attacks, which is then routed to the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) whi ...

and

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

's Missile Warning Center for missile defense operations. The squadron's secondary mission is tracking low-earth-orbiting objects, such as the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

, which is reported to the 18th Space Control Squadron.

Base assignment and major units

Gallery

File:Cape Cod Space Force Station.jpg, Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno, Rep. Bill Keating, Lt. Col. Timothy “Vax” Sheehan, and other dignitaries including Walter Taylor and Greg Moore attend the installation's redesignation as a Space Force Station. File:Cape Cod AFS Security Forces.jpg, Member of Air Force Security Forces standing watch in front of the PAVE PAWS installation at Cape Cod SFS, 2021. File:Cape Cod Air Force Station entrance.jpg, The entrance to the station while designated an Air Force Station File:Pave Paws Radar Screen.jpg, Radar screen for the PAVE PAWS at Cape Cod AFS, 1986. File:PAVE Paws Computer Room.jpg, Computer room for PAVE PAWS at Cape Cod AFS, 1986. Note the four large hard disk units in the foreground.

References

External links

* * {{Aerospace Defense Command 1980 establishments in Massachusetts Bourne, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts Installations of the United States Air Force in Massachusetts Installations of the United States Space Force Military installations established in 1980