Active 1961-2008, Type Space Control | Country United States Size 106 | |
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Branch United States Air Force Role Space Situational Awareness | ||
The United States Air Force's 1st Space Control Squadron (1 SPCS) was a space situational awareness unit located at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colorado and later moved to Vandenberg AFB, California . 1 SPCS commanded the United States Space Surveillance Network to detect, track, identify and catalog positional data for all man-made objects in Earth orbit.
Contents
Mission
"Building space situational awareness is not the science of becoming omniscient about space but the art of understanding what's relevant for command and control of space forces." Lt Col Chance Saltzman, former 1 SPCS Commander
The 1 SPCS tracked and compiled positional data on thousands of man-made objects in space partly to prevent collisions between newly launched satellites and other objects already orbiting the earth. Additionally, the unit had the mission to task 30 space sensors within Space Surveillance Network to track satellites for US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to maintain an accurate satellite catalog (SATCAT) of over 9000 object orbiting the earth., To support manned space flight, 1 SPCS constructs a theoretical box around the space shuttle, MIR or ISS, and projects flight path intersections for 36 to 72 hours. If any objects intersects the theoretical box, the unit forwarded the analysis to NASA, allowing them to determine whether to change the spacecraft/space station's flight path. Based on 1 SPCS mission analysis, and its predecessor units, NASA has moved the space shuttle 12 times and the International Space Station five times since 1981. In June 1995, the unit tracked the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis during its historic rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir. The unit also compiled a catalog of space objects.
The 1 SPCS also contained international personnel, such as Canadian military, since SSA was not just a U.S. problem.
History
The 1st Command and Control Squadron provided collision avoidance support during each shuttle mission as well as maintaining an extensive satellite catalog (the "SATCAT" or "Box score"). This catalog is used by U.S. civilian and military agencies when launching new satellites into space, as well as by U.S. allies.
The roots of the 1 SPCS reach back to 1961, with the Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS) Center at Ent Air Force Base, CO. Through several moves, name changes, personnel, experience, and equipment, they were activated as the 1st Command and Control Squadron activated at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, CO, in December 1989, and were later redesignated in October 2001, as the 1 SPCS. Though the unit moved to Vandenberg AFB, California in 2007 to better coordinate activities with the Joint Space Operations Center (JSPoC), it lost over 150 years of expert civilian experience.
Inactivation
The unit was inactivated on 9 Jun 2008, and its mission and members integrated into the 614th Air and Space Operations Center / Joint Space Operations Center. Unconfirmed sources state that Cheyenne Mountain AFS may retain some capability to cover the 1 SPCS mission, if required.