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| United States Air Force
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| Wing
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| Air Force Space Command
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| Schriever Air Force Base
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| Master of Space
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The 50th Space Wing (50 SW) is a wing of the United States Air Force under the major command of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was activated on January 30, 1992, replacing the 2d Space Wing, which was inactivated on the same date. The unit is the host wing at Schriever Air Force Base, located east of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their primary responsibility is to track and maintain the command and control, warning, navigational, and communications satellites for AFSPC.
Typical satellite monitoring tasks such as tracking and telemetry are the main part of their mission, and in so doing, they employ over 4,000 personnel (military, contractors, and DoD civilians.)
Organizational Units
The wing is divided into three groups:
- 50th Mission Support Group
- 50th Network Operations Group
- 50th Operations Group
All are ostensibly located at Schriever, but personnel are emplaced at remote locations, such as remote tracking stations (RTS).
History
Lineage
- Established as 50th Fighter Wing on 16 May 1949. Activated in the Reserve on 1 Jun 1949.
- Redesignated 50th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 1 Mar 1950. Ordered to active service on 1 Jun 1951. Inactivated on 2 Jun 1951.
- Redesignated 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 15 Nov 1952. Activated on 1 Jan 1953.
- Redesignated 50th Tactical Fighter Wing on 8 Jul 1958. Inactivated on 30 Sep 1991.
- Redesignated 50th Space Wing on 1 Jan 1992. Activated on 30 Jan 1992. Also activated at Falcon AFB are the 50th Operations Group, previously named the 50th Tactical Fighter Group, and the 50th Support Group, later renamed 50th Mission Support Group. On the same date the 750th Space Group activated at Onizuka Air Force Station. These organizations took over the personnel, facilities, and missions of the inactivated 2d Space Wing.
Assignments
- First Air Force, 1 Jun 1949 (attached to 33d Fighter [later, 33d Fighter-Interceptor] Wing, 1 Jun 1949–)
- Eastern Air Defense Force, 1 Sep 1950–2 Jun 1951 (remained attached to 33d Fighter-Interceptor Wing to 2 Jun 1951)
- Ninth Air Force, 1 Jan 1953
- Twelfth Air Force, 9 Aug 1953
- United States Air Forces in Europe, 1 Jan 1958
- Seventeenth Air Force, 15 Nov 1959–30 Sep 1991
- Air Force Space Command, 30 Jan 1992
- Fourteenth Air Force, 20 Sep 1993–
Stations
- Otis AFB, MA, 1 June 1949–2 June 1951
- Clovis AFB, NM, 1 January–23 July 1953
- Hahn Air Base, Germany, 10 August 1953
- Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France, 17 July 1956
- Hahn Air Base, Germany, 10 Dec 1959–30 Sept 1991
- Falcon (later, Schriever) AFB, CO, 30 Jan 1992–present
Satellite Tracking Facilities
The 50th maintains a number of tracking stations, which comprise a part of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN), which are used to track, primarily, US government angencies/organizations & military satellites, as well as receive and process telemetry and send commands to these satellites. Said facilities are intended to support all Department of Defense satellites. Most tracking stations are operated by 22d Space Operations Squadron detachments. Many Sceintific and Research satellites are supported, prior, during, and after established orbits/trajectories.
Current
- Hawaii Tracking Station (HTS), Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Hawaii; callsign HULA
- Vandenberg Tracking Station (VTS), California; callsign COOK
- Diego Garcia Station (DGS), Diego Garcia, BIOT; callsign REEF
- Thule Tracking Station (TTS), Thule Air Base, Greenland; callsign POGO
- Guam Tracking Station (GTS), Guam; callsign GUAM
- Colorado Tracking Station (CTS), Schriever AFB, Colorado; callsign PIKE
- Telemetry & Command Station (TCS), RAF Oakhanger, in England, ostensibly operated by the United Kingdom; callsign LION
- New Hampshire Station (NHS), New Boston AFS, New Hampshire; callsign BOSS
- Eastern Vehicle Checkout Facility (EVCF), Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; callsign BEACH
- Test Vehicle Checkout Facility (TVCF), Onizuka AFB, California; callsign YOGI
Previous
Each site is managed via a common user element consisting of a control node, a central scheduling facility, remote tracking sites, and communication links connecting them. AFSCN was originally activated to support the CORONA/Discoverer program in 1959. An interim satellite control center was initially established in Palo Alto, California, and by June, 1960, a permanent control center had been established Sunnyvale AFS, later renamed, Onizuka AFB Sunnyvale, California. The main operations control center, now at Schriever Air Force Base Colorado Springs, CO, and functions as a central command and control node for the remote tracking stations established at several different locations.
