Cavalier Air Force Station

Infobox Military Structure
name= Cavalier Air Force Station
partof=Part of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)
location= northwest of Mountain, North Dakota
coordinates= coord|48|43|55|N|97|54|16|W|


caption= PARCS antenna array at Cavalier AFS
type= Air Force Station
code=
built=
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materials=
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controlledby= United States Air Force
garrison= 10th Space Warning Squadron
commanders=
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Cavalier Air Force Station is a United States Air Force installation in Pembina County, North Dakota, home to the 10th Space Warning Squadron of the 21st Space Wing based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Mission

The station monitors and tracks potential missile launches against the United States with a AN/FPQ-16 Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS), a phased array radar system housed in a 37m-tall structure. Both American and Canadian military members are assigned to the facility, as well as contractor employees.

Equipment

PARCS observes sub-orbital and orbital objects in support of NORAD's early warning and space surveillance programs. Its single-faced phased array radar is pointed northward over Hudson Bay. PARCS can spot an object the size of a basketball at 3000 km. It analyzes more than 20 000 tracks per day, from giant satellites to space debris.

The station is located approximately 5 km north and 3 km west of Mountain, about 20 km from Cavalier.

Chronology

*1976: Safeguard system is deactivated.
*1977: USAF acquires the former PAR, using the name Concrete Missile Early Warning System (CMEWS) (named for the hamlet of Concrete, N.D., just west of the PAR site).
*1983: With the closing of the post office at Concrete, N.D., the name is changed to Cavalier Air Force Station (named for the town of Cavalier, N.D., 11 miles east of the site).
*1993: Name shortened to Cavalier Air Station.
*2000: Name changed back to Cavalier Air Force Station.

Previous Designations

* Cavalier Air Force Station (2000-Present)
* Cavalier Air Station (1993-2000)
* Cavalier Air Force Station (1983-1993)
* Concrete Missile Early Warning System (1977-1983)

ee also

*Safeguard Program

Photo Gallery

External links

* [http://www.peterson.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4710 10th Space Warning Squadron page]
* [http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0399/remote.htm Airman magazine article]

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