1st Space Control Squadron

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 1st Space Control Squadron


caption= 1st Space Control Squadron emblem
dates= 1961-2008
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type= Space Control
role=Command and Control
size=
command_structure= 14th Air Force and 614th Air and Space Operations Center
current_commander=
garrison= Vandenberg AFB, California and Peterson AFB, Colorado
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
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The United States Air Force's 1st Space Control Squadron (1 SPCS) was a space control unit located at Vandenberg AFB, California and Peterson AFB, Colorado. 1 SPCS was a major force provider to the Joint Space Operations Center. 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.

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 unit 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. 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.

History [http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/08/02/space.junk/ Wood, D. 2005 Cataloging space junk: Working on the 'world's largest jigsaw puzzle']

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.http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/agency/21sw.htm FAS.org: 21st Space Wing

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Previous designations

* 1st Space Control Squadron (1 Oct 2001-9 Jun 2008)
* 1st Command & Control Squadron (30 Nov 1989-1 Oct 2001)
* Space Detection and Tracking System Center (1961 - ???)

Bases stationed

*Vandenberg AFB, California (2007-9 Jun 2008)
*Peterson AFB, Colorado (2007-9 Jun 2008)
*Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colorado (1989-September 2007)
*Ent Air Force Base, Colorado (1961-unknown)

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
*1 Dec 1989-31 Aug 1991
*1 Oct 1995-30 Sep 1997
*1 Oct 1997-30 Sep 1999
*1 Jan-31 Dec 1998
*1 Jan-31 Dec 1999
*1 Jan 2000-31 Aug 2001

References

External links

* [http://www.zianet.com/jpage/airforce/ Joe's USAF Blue Book] (Deactivated Link)