Schriever Air Force Base

A History in Pictures

Acknowledgements

The preparation of this pictorial history of Schriever AFB was truly a group effort, involving many people and agencies within 

and outside the 50th Space Wing. Special thanks to the following people, without whose assistance this publication would have 

been much more difficult. Dr. Rick W. Sturdevant, Air Force Space Command History Office, provided guidance and editorial 

reviews and mentored me throughout the process of researching and preparing the book. Master Sergeant Scott D. Bailey, 310th 

Space Wing Historian, and Technical Sergeant Denise L. Flory, 302nd Airlift Wing Historian, provided much needed background 

information and photographs on the 310th Space Wing, Space Innovation Development Center, and USAF Warfare Center 

organizations and activities at Schriever AFB. Ms. Chris Blake , 50th Space Communications Squadron Multi-Media contractor, 

did the final layout and formatting and ensured the reprinted photographs met strict quality standards. The Space and Missile 

Center History Office staff provided photographs and key information on the early organizations supporting Air Force space 

activities. Major Michael Schriever was kind enough to loan several photos from family albums that provided insight into the life of 

his grandfather, General Bernard Schriever. 
General Bernard A. Schriever, 1910 – 2005

“The father of Air Force missiles and space”
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements i

Title Page ii

Table of Contents III

The Airman’s Creed iv

The Ballad of Schriever AFB v

Introduction 1

Part 1, General Bernard Adolph Schriever 9

Part 2, USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980 25

Part 3, Creating A Consolidated Space Operations Center 39

Part 4, New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows 57

Part 5, Building A Community 77
The Airman’s Creed

I am an American Airman.

I am a warrior.

I have answered my nation’s call.

I am an American Airman.

My mission is to fly, fight, and win.

I am faithful to a proud heritage,

A tradition of honor,

And a legacy of valor.

I am an American Airman,

Guardian of freedom and justice,

My nation’s sword and shield,

Its sentry and avenger.

I defend my country with my life.

I am an American Airman:

Wingman, leader, warrior.

I will never leave an Airman behind,

I will never falter,

And I will not fail.
Just Fence Me In!

The Ballad of Schriever AFB

Lyrics by Don Schaarschmidt

(To the tune Don’t Fence Me In)

Oh give me land filled with sand

On the prairie side of town,

Just fence me in.

Let me drive Ninety-Four

Where the accidents abound,

Just fence me in.

Let me work through the day

Where the wind blows,

Trapped in an office

Without any windows,

Except on my computer

Where all my time goes,

Just fence me in.

I’ll swipe my badge

Then I’ll enter through the center,

Where security is high.

They’ll check my bag

So no unpermitted camera,

Will see dishes in the sky.

I wanna walk on the lawn

With rabbits grazing,

Jog by the ponds

Those ducks are amazing,

I can’t leave early

The Commander is gazing,

Just fence me in -

Just fence me in!

INTRODUCTION

1

Human desire to reach the stars is as old as 

civilization itself. Philosophers, scientists 

and engineers have looked to the heavens 

and considered ways to explore the galaxies. The 

Chinese developed gunpowder rockets by the first 

millennium A.D. and by 1045, gunpowder rockets 

were an important element of their military arsenal. According to legend, a minor Chinese official 

named Wan Hu even attempted, sometime during 

the 16th century, to launch himself to the moon 

using 47 rockets strapped to his chair. Centuries 

passed before humans developed the technologies 

to take the first real steps toward reaching space. 

In the early 20th century, pioneers such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth, Wernher 

von Braun, and Robert H. Goddard advanced the 

science of rocketry to new summits. Von Braun’s 

rocketry work led to development of the German 

V 2, considered the foundation for some of today’s 

modern rockets. World War II brought not only 

rockets, but jet engines, radar, and many other 

technological advances to the world. Tying those 

developing technologies together to foster exploration and exploitation of space would become the 

life’s work of countless more scientists and engineers. In the late 1950s, the United States and the 

Soviet Union engaged in a “space race” to develop 

rockets capable of carrying artificial satellites into 

Earth orbit. The development of those rockets was 

also essential to the ongoing work in both nations 

to develop guided missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons at intercontinental ranges.

In 1954, the U.S. Air Force established the Western 

Development Division (WDD). President Dwight 

Eisenhower announced the first U.S. scientific satellite program and WDD secretly initiated work on 

Weapon System 117L, the first Air Force satellite 

program. In 1956, the U.S. government awarded 

Lockheed Missiles and Space Company a contract 

for development of the country’s first reconnaissance satellite, which eventually carried the top 

secret name “CORONA.” On October 4, 1957, 

the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the world’s 

first artificial satellite. The Soviets followed one 

month later with the launch of Sputnik II, which 

carried a dog named Laika (Barker), the first living 

creature placed into Earth orbit. The United States 

launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, on January 31, 

1958, followed by Vanguard 1 on March 17, 1958.

CORONA, which first operated under the “Discoverer” scientific cover, originally was planned for 

launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and would 

be supported by satellite tracking facilities around 

the world. Some of those stations were already in 

place on Pacific islands to support missile tests. By 

1958, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (renamed from the Western Development Division) 

determined that additional tracking stations were 

required and added Vandenberg Air Force Base 

and Point Mugu, California; Ka’ena Point, Hawaii; 

and Kodiak, Alaska, to the network. The launch 

site for Discoverer/CORONA also changed from 

Cape Canaveral to Vandenberg AFB. Discoverer 

I launched on February 28, 1959, and served as 

a test platform for guidance and booster systems. 

It transmitted telemetry intermittently until it 

de-orbited on March 17, 1959.

The Air Force quickly realized it needed an organization dedicated to on-orbit commanding and 

controlling of satellites. On April 6, 1959, the 

6594th Test Wing activated at Lockheed’s facility 

in Palo Alto, California, and the Air Force Satellite Control Network was born. At its activation, 

the 6594th included three operating locations: Edwards Air Force Base, California; Chiniak, Alaska; 

and Annette Island, Alaska. Later in the year, 

stations at Vandenberg AFB, California; Ka’ena 

Point, Hawaii; and New Boston, New Hampshire, 

joined the wing. In March 1960, the wing moved 

to Sunnyvale, California, and in June of that year, 

the new installation, designated as the Air Force 

Satellite Control Center, opened. Later, it would 

be redesignated Onizuka Air Force Station, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Ellison Onizuka, an Air 

Force officer and NASA astronaut from California. 

The wing was redesignated the 6594th Aerospace 

Test Wing in 1961 and reassigned to the newly created Space Systems Division.

While the United States advanced its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, it also 

continued work on its satellite programs, especially the CORONA reconnaissance satellite. 

On August 19, 1960, a specially equipped C-119 

aircraft and its crew conducted the first aerial recovery of a film canister ejected from a CORONA 
2

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

satellite—Discoverer XIV. That satellite had acquired 3,000 feet of imagery covering more than 

1.65 million square miles of Soviet territory. While 

the Discoverer program ended in 1962 after thirty-eight satellite launches, the CORONA program 

continued operations in secrecy for another ten 

years. Meanwhile, expansion and modernization 

of the satellite tracking stations continued as the 

United States began developing early warning, 

communications, and weather satellite systems. 

By the end of 1961, the network consisted of the 

main node at Sunnyvale and tracking stations at 

Vandenberg, Kodiak Island, Ka’ena Point, New 

Boston, Thule, Annette Island, Fort Greely, and by 

1962, on the Seychelles island of Mahe in the Indian Ocean. By June 1962, the network was able 

to support multiple satellite operations. Network 

operators supported as many as ten programs, including their primary mission, CORONA.

The AFSCN gained responsibility for all ICBM 

test-flight and space tracking activities in 1963, 

and its organization and operations continued to 

expand. Recognizing the need for a new organizational construct to meet the growing network 

requirements, the Air Force established the Air 

Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) as an organization in June 1965 and named Col. Walter H. 

Hedrick, Jr., as its commander. The AFSCF operated remote tracking stations around the world and 

conducted satellite telemetry, tracking, and commanding tasks now performed by the 50th Space 

Wing’s space operations squadrons. The Guam 

Tracking Station opened in September 1965 as the 

first mobile facility, though permanent structures 

were soon constructed. The Los Angeles-based 

AFSCF was comprised of a support squadron and 

detachment at Sunnyvale, the tracking stations, 

and the 6594th Recovery Control Group, which 

was charged with the primary task of recovering CORONA satellite payloads. The group also 

conducted rescue missions in the Pacific and supported NASA’s Apollo space launches. The 6594th 

Recovery Control Group inactivated in 1986 after recovering tens of thousands of film canisters 

ejected from once-classified satellites such as CORONA, Hexagon, and Gambit.

As the development of satellite technology advanced, new opportunities to field systems that 

enhanced military capability presented themselves. Sir Arthur C. Clarke had envisioned of the 

feasibility of manned, geostationary-orbiting communication satellites in 1945. A decade later, John 

R. Pierce, who had coined the word “transistor” 

and was working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, 

envisioned the utility of communications “repeaters” in space. On June 16, 1966, the Air Force 

launched the first cluster of Initial Defense Satellite 

Communications System satellites from the Eastern Space and Missile Complex (ESMC) at Cape 

Canaveral, Florida. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense, had 

begun development of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, a sun-synchronous polar 

orbiting satellite using visual and infrared sensors 

to collect twice-daily weather imagery for use in 

military operational planning. The first Defense 

Meteorological Satellite Program launch occurred 

on May 23, 1962.

Concurrently, the military services were involved 

in the development of various pathfinder satellite-based navigation systems. The U.S. Navy 

successfully launched its first Transit navigation 

satellite in 1960 and, in 1967, the first TIMATION 

(Time Navigation) satellite. The U.S. Army developed the Sequential Correlation of Range (SECOR) 

satellites, while the U.S. Air Force began work on 

Program 621B. In 1968, the Department of Defense created the Navigation Satellite Executive 

Committee (NAVSEC) to coordinate the efforts of 

these organizations; a joint program office, established in 1973 under Air Force leadership, merged 

the Navy’s TIMATION program and the Air 

Force’s 621B program under the name NAVSTAR 

Global Positioning System (GPS). The Navy’s TIMATION-IV, renamed as Navigation Technology 

Satellite (NTS)-2 launched on June 23, 1977, as the 

first demonstration satellite managed by the joint 

program office. The first Global Positioning System 

satellite, NAVSTAR-1, launched on February 22, 

1978, with ten additional launches over the next 

seven years, culminating on October 9, 1985.

These new systems, both operational and planned, 

required improved and expanded facilities to manage their operations. The Sunnyvale, California site 
3

Introduction

became the center of that initial expansion. By the 

late 1970s, however, the need for a new location for 

U.S. national satellite operations became evident. 

Growth in the Sunnyvale area presented Air Force 

leadership with a variety of concerns, not limited 

to the cost of utilities and earthquake hazards. Encroachment by business and housing developments 

had constrained the Sunnyvale Air Force Station, 

prohibiting the construction of additional facilities 

to support emerging and planned missions. 

In 1979, the Secretary of Defense authorized the 

concept for a Consolidated Satellite Operations 

Center (CSOC) to become the primary AFSCN 

and satellite operations center and to support the 

Air Force’s Shuttle Operations and Planning Complex (SOPC). Over the course of the next four 

years, Air Force and Department of Defense officials evaluated many sites with the potential to 

support the new CSOC. The availability of land, 

water, and inexpensive utilities were important 

considerations. Equally important were concerns 

about encroachment upon the installation by commercial or residential development. The selected 

site had to have sufficient resources to allow for expansion and new missions.

The Air Force Satellite Control Network continued its support for National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) activities, especially in 

monitoring telemetry data for NASA launches in 

the Apollo program from the Sunnyvale location, 

while preparing to expand that support to include 

the soon to be operational Space Transportation 

System (STS), commonly known as the space shuttle. Beginning with the April 12, 1981 launch of 

STS-1, the AFSCN’s support to NASA included 

downloading telemetry during launch, on-orbit, 

and re-entry operations of the space shuttle.

Following several years of evaluations involving nearly 100 potential sites, the Air Force recommended 

a previously unlisted option—a site approximately ten miles east of Peterson Air Force Base, which 

sat on the eastern boundary of Colorado Springs. 

This site, in unincorporated El Paso County, consisted principally of state-owned land, was rural, 

and lacked the encroachment issues associated with 

other evaluated sites. Its location provided sufficient 

security and offered advantageous “look angles” for 

the antenna systems that would be affiliated with 

the center’s operational activity.

Following negotiations with the State of Colorado, the state granted the federal government a deed 

to approximately 640 acres of land. On May 17, 

1983, contractors broke ground for what would become Falcon Air Force Station (AFS), named for 

the nearby unincorporated town north of the installation. For over two years, contractors worked 

to complete sufficient facilities to open the base, 

including headquarters and operations buildings, 

support facilities, and infrastructure.

On July 8, 1985 the 2nd Space Wing activated 

in a ceremony at Falcon AFS, even though the 

installation was not complete enough to allow the 

new wing to occupy the facilities. A ribbon-cutting 

ceremony on September 26, 1985, symbolized the 

activation of Falcon AFS. Within weeks, the initial 

cadre of the 2nd Space Wing, consisting of about 

185 military and civilian employees moved into 

work centers and offices. Space Command activated the 2nd Satellite Control Squadron (later 2nd 

Space Operations Squadron) and its Vandenberg 

detachment to assume responsibility for Global Positioning System (GPS) on-orbit operations. 

By the late 1980s, with much of the operations centers and communication links completed, the 2nd 

Space Wing began accepting missions previously 

conducted at California sites. By 1989, the 1st Satellite Control Squadron, later redesignated as the 

1st Space Operations Squadron, had assumed responsibility for Defense Support Program (DSP) 

satellites and some aspects of Global Positioning 

System (GPS) operations, including satellite launch 

support. Between 1987 and 1993, Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Space Command 

officials coordinated efforts to transition mission 

activity from Sunnyvale AFS to Falcon AFS and 

the 2nd Space Wing. 

On October 1, 1987, Onizuka Air Force Station 

(renamed from Sunnyvale AFS in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Ellison Onizuka, who lost his life 

in the space shuttle Challenger disaster of January 1986) transferred from Air Force Systems 

Command to Air Force Space Command and, 
4

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

ultimately, fell under the control of the 2nd Space 

Wing at Falcon AFS. Concurrent with that transfer, Air Force Space Command activated a number 

of organizations to assume satellite operations and 

network missions. 

Leaps in space-related technologies added importance to Falcon’s consolidated space operations and 

brought new missions and organizations to the 

station. Reflecting this growth, Air Force Space 

Command renamed the installation Falcon Air Force 

Base on June 13, 1988. Two days later, Lieutenant 

General Donald J. Kutyna hosted a ground-breaking 

ceremony for the Falcon AFB Space Forecast Center. 

And on June 17, 1988, Detachment 7, 2nd Satellite 

Tracking Group activated at Falcon AFB to operate 

the new Colorado Tracking Station of the Air Force 

Satellite Control Network.

As the development of the installation and the 

maturation of its units continued, 1988 became 

a banner year for the 2nd Space Wing and Falcon Air Force Base. As winter approached, the 

wing’s satellite control crews continued to prepare 

for the transfer of satellite commanding missions. 

On November 29, 1988, the 1st Satellite Control 

Squadron accepted satellite command authority 

for the Defense Support Program. Then, on December 26, 1988, crews of the 1 SCS conducted 

their first Falcon AFB support of a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite.

One year later, as primary responsibility for satellite 

missions began to transfer to the 2nd Space Wing’s 

Falcon Air Force Base units, the wing opened the 

Consolidated Space Operations Center’s Operations Command Center, transferring the function 

from the Air Force Systems Command’s Space Systems Division in an April 3, 1989, ceremony. Initial 

operational testing and evaluations were conducted from February 15, 1989, until March 9, 1989. 

In October, Air Force Space Command responded to the needs of a maturing 2nd Space Wing by 

implementing organizational actions to increase 

the wing’s self-sufficiency and efficiency. Some organizations were renamed to clarify their missions 

and others, like the 1002nd Civil Engineering 

Squadron, were activated to improve mission performance. By December 1989, Air Force Systems 

Command’s Space Systems Division began the 

process of formally transferring mission control 

centers to Air Force Space Command and ultimately to the 2nd Space Wing user organizations.

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Satellite Control Squadrons 

were activated and transitioned satellite control and 

command responsibilities to their organizations in 

the first five to seven years after the base’s activation. 

Responsibility for DSP, GPS, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), and wideband 

communications, such as the Defense Satellite 

Communications System (DSCS) satellite command and control operations, realigned under the 

2nd Space Wing. Falcon AFB became the primary satellite command and control organization for 

the USAF and, also supported other national and 

military systems. The formal transition of primary operations from California to Falcon AFB was 

completed in August 1993, following successful operational testing of communication links between 

the ground stations and the installation, and between the Falcon and Sunnyvale communications 

nodes. A Falcon AFB ceremony on September 27, 

1993, marked the formal turnover of the Consolidated Space Operations Center from Air Force 

Systems Command to Air Force Space Command.

In September 1990, the Joint National Test Facility (later renamed Joint National Integration 

Center) opened at Falcon, and a few years later, Air 

Force Space Command activated the Space Warfare Center (later renamed Space Innovation and 

Development Center) at Falcon AFB. These new 

organizations necessitated additions to the base’s 

infrastructure.

Changing strategic priorities in the early 1990s 

led to a reduction of United States military organizations and personnel in Europe. To maintain 

the lineage and honors of distinguished units, the 

Air Force chose to inactivate Falcon’s 2nd Space 

Wing and activate the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, 

renamed 50th Space Wing, to assume responsibility for the satellite control and network operations 

missions at Falcon. The 50th activated at Falcon 

AFB on January 30, 1992, and absorbed the personnel, equipment, facilities, and functions of the 

inactivated 2nd Space Wing.
5

Introduction

Throughout the 1990s, the installation and its 

organizations continued to develop and mature. 

Planning for new missions brought additional 

units to the 50th Space Wing. Air Force Space 

Command activated the 4th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, effective April 30, 1992, 

redesignated it the 4th Space Operations Squadron, 

and assigned it the mission of operating the yetto-be-fielded Milstar satellite program. Air Force 

Space Command activated the Space Warfare 

Center on November 1, 1993, and charged that organization with incorporating space capability in 

major command, theater, and campaign war plans 

. . . simulation, modeling and war gaming activities, 

and to lead development efforts to improve combat applications of space systems. On September 

4, 1997, the 310th Space Group (later 310th Space 

Wing) joined the growing list of organizations at 

Schriever AFB and became the first space group 

in the Air Force Reserve. The 310th grew over 

time and was redesignated the 310th Space Wing 

in March 2008. The Joint Forces Component 

Command (JFCC) for Integrated Missile Defense 

(JFCC-IMD) began operations at Schriever AFB 

in January 2005. Today, the base hosts twenty-one 

tenant organizations and activities and added another with the activation of the Joint Interagency 

Combined Space Operations Center (JICSpOC), 

which began operational experimentation and testing on October 1, 2015, while the 50th Space Wing 

operated or supported more than 175 satellites. The 

base’s proximity to key space organizations, including Air Force Space Command headquarters, the 

Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and the growing 

space industry along Colorado’s Front Range, were 

important factors in the base’s growth over its first 

thirty years.

With a growing workforce, the 50th Space Wing 

moved to reduce the installation’s reliance on nearby Peterson Air Force Base for support functions, 

beginning in the early 1990s. The 50th Mission 

Support Squadron (later Force Support Squadron) 

opened its own military and civilian personnel 

functions as well as Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) activities on September 13, 1992.

Over the next decades, Falcon continued growing 

as new missions necessitated increased land area for 

operations, support, and administrative facilities, 

as well as a buffer zone for security. In November 

1993, the Air Staff proposed a land exchange with 

Colorado to obtain the desired properties. By February 1996, negotiations on land transfers with 

the State of Colorado, combined with purchases 

of privately owned parcels, resulted in acquisitions 

bringing the base’s total area to nearly 4,000 acres. 

This provided both room for the base to expand 

and an adequate buffer against encroachment.

As the new millennium neared, the installation 

continued to grow. In 1997, Air Force Space Command activated the Space Battlelab at Falcon AFB 

to develop new and innovative ideas for applying 

space technology to combat operations. In 1998, 

the Air Force renamed the base to honor General 

Bernard A. Schriever, the man known as the “father 

of Air Force missiles and space.” On June 5, 1998, 

the wing held a renaming ceremony in General 

Schriever’s honor, marking a rare instance when 

an Air Force installation was named for a living 

person. Also, in 1998, construction began on new 

facilities to house missions and support operations 

being transferred from Onizuka Air Force Station 

as a result of the 1995 Defense Base Closure and 

Realignment Commission initiatives passed by 

Congress and signed into law by President William 

J. Clinton. Air Force Space Command ordered the 

activation, effective June 1, 2003, of the 50th Logistics Readiness Flight (previously designated the 

50th Supply Squadron). The command followed 

that action with another unit activation, ordering 

the activation of the 50th Comptroller Flight (later elevated to squadron level), effective October 

1, 2003, to provide financial services to Schriever 

AFB units and personnel.

Midway through the first decade of the 21st century, Schriever AFB hosted nearly sixty major and 

minor facilities and employed over 6,200 people. 

The base’s continuing growth and importance 

prompted wing and command officials to begin 

preliminary planning to bring several hundred 

housing units and associated community support 

activities to the base. That effort came to fruition 

when, on May 16, 2008, base officials, community leaders, and contractor representatives broke 

ground on 242 enlisted and officer housing units 

at Schriever AFB. Construction was completed 
6

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

by late summer 2010. Today, 223 families call 

Schriever AFB home. By May 2014, Schriever 

AFB encompassed 3,840 acres holding sixty-three 

buildings (not including housing units) and reported a population of 7,647 personnel.

In a little more than three decades, Schriever has 

grown from humble beginnings as a “commuter 

base” to a full installation hosting many important 

missions and units from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, 

and U.S. Air Force, as well as joint organizations. 

The future looks bright for this base on the plains, 

because the conditions that made this site ideal for 

a new installation, still exist.

The history of Schriever Air Force Base (AFB), on 

the high plains of Colorado, may be brief in comparison to many other military reservations, but 

that history is filled with important accomplishments and community involvement.
7

Introduction
Portrait of General Bernard A. Schriever
9

General Bernard A. Schriever, born in Bremen, Germany on September 14, 1910, is 

considered the “father of Air Force missiles 

and space,” having been an important contributor 

to America’s development of ballistic missiles and 

space systems. Following World War II, the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles 

had the most significant influence on the United 

States Air Force and the balance of world power. 

The Schriever family immigrated to the United 

States in 1917 to join his father Adolph, whose ship 

had been seized in New York in 1916 and the crew 

interned. Following his father’s release, the family moved to New Braunfels and onward to San 

Antonio, Texas, where Adolph found work in an 

engine plant. Adolph died in 1918 in an industrial accident, leaving his widow, who lacked skills 

and English fluency, as the sole supporter of herself, Bernard, and his younger brother, Gerhard. 

Following his father’s death, Bennie and his brother lived in a foster home for eight months until 

their grandmother arrived from Germany to care 

for them. He became a naturalized citizen in 1923. 

After attending grade and high school in San Antonio, Texas, he attended and graduated from Texas 

A&M University with a bachelor of science degree 

in architectural engineering.

He entered the U.S. Army as a graduate of the 

Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC) and 

received a reserve commission in the Field Artillery, but began flight training at Randolph Field in 

1932, earning his wings and a commission in the 

Air Corps in 1933 at Kelly Field. He was assigned 

as a bomber pilot at March and Hamilton Fields, 

California, and received promotion to first lieutenant in June 1933. During the winter of 1934, he 

flew mail missions in antiquated and inadequately equipped plans that cost many of his comrades 

their lives. This experience underscored for him the 

consequences of technical inferiority and demonstrated the imperative to modernize and build up 

air power if the United States wanted to compete 

with other air forces.

Unable to secure a regular commission (instead 

of his current reserve commission), Schriever left 

the Air Corps in 1935 to fly as a commercial pilot. 

His application for a job with the airlines was not 

successful, so he took a job as a camp commander with the Civilian Conservation Corps in New 

Mexico. He left that position in October 1936, and 

returned to active duty with the Air Corps and in 

December 1936 he was assigned to Albrook Field, 

Panama. While assigned at Albrook Field, Schriever met his first wife, Dora Brett, the daughter of 

General George Brett. In August 1937, Schriever 

received his commercial pilot job with Northwest 

Airlines, and in January 1938, he married Dora 

Brett in the Washington, D.C. home of Brigadier 

General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, a personal friend 

of the Bretts. Schriever returned to the Air Corps 

in 1938, receiving a regular commission as a second lieutenant instead of his pending promotion to 

captain in the reserves. He was assigned to the 7th 

Bombardment Group at Hamilton Field, California, as a B-18 instrument flying instructor.

In 1939, Schriever was reassigned to Wright Field, 

Ohio, where he later was one of six officers to attend 

the Air Corps Engineering School. After completing that course, the Army Air Forces (renamed 

from Air Corps in June 1941) sent him to Stanford University for a master’s degree in aeronautical 

engineering. By June 1942, when he graduated 

from Stanford, Schriever had been promoted to 

major and was reassigned to the 19th Bombardment Group in the Southwest Pacific. Schriever 

participated in the Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, 

Luzon, Papua, North Solomon, South Philippine, 

and Ryukyu campaigns, flying 33 combat missions 

in B-17s as the group’s chief of maintenance before 

being removed from operations and moving to logistics and engineering. By the war’s end, Schriever 

had been promoted to colonel and commanded the 

Advanced Headquarters, Far East Service Command, responsible for building and operating all 

maintenance, repair, and supply depots in the theater from bases in Hollandia, New Guinea, Leyte, 

Manila, and Okinawa.

His experience, education, and training, as well 

as his intellect and reputation, ensured that he remained involved in Air Force technical activities 

following the war. In 1946 he was assigned to the 

Pentagon to head the Scientific Liaison Branch under the Deputy Chief of Staff for Materiel. Schriever 

was entrusted with the task of maintaining close 

GENERAL BERNARD ADOLPH SCHRIEVER
10

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

ties that had been forged during the war between 

the Army Air Forces (AAF) and leading scientists. 

Schriever worked closely with Dr. Theodore Von 

Karman, head of the Scientific Advisory Board 

(SAB). Von Karman introduced Colonel Schriever 

to many top scientists and helped him to reestablish 

the Air Force’s connection to the scientific community that some believed had been neglected since 

General Arnold’s retirement in February 1946.

Schriever soon found himself at the center of a small 

group of officers led by Major General Donald L. 

Putt, Air Staff Director of Research and Development, that campaigned for a separate research and 

development command and the establishment of a 

deputy chief of staff for development on the Air 

Staff. The group’s efforts, aided by retired Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle, came to fruition 

and prevailed upon the Air Force to commission a 

study of research and development. The resulting 

report from the Ridenour Committee agreed with 

Schriever and his group that Air Force research and 

development would be improved with the creation 

of a research and development command.

After attending the National War College in 1950, 

Schriever was named to be Deputy Assistant for 

Evaluation under the new Deputy Chief of Staff 

for Development. Schriever’s office was renamed 

the Development Planning Office in January 

1951, and introduced development planning objectives (DPOs), an invaluable series of planning 

documents that matched long-range military 

requirements with ongoing research and development efforts. DPOs were generated for all major 

elements of air power—strategic and tactical warfare, airlift, air defense, and intelligence and 

reconnaissance. Schriever sought, through these 

DPOs, to push technology forward to meet future 

needs rather than pulling it to meet contemporary 

demands. In January 1951, he became the assistant for development planning. He was promoted 

to brigadier general in 

June 1953. While at 

the Pentagon, Schriever was instrumental in 

developing the B-58 

Hustler and pushing for 

a low-altitude bombing 

capability.

General Schriever’s 

work in R&D and acquisition continued and 

in June 1954 he was 

reassigned as the assistant to the commander 

of the Air Research and 

Development Command. One month later, he and 

a small group of officers headed to Los Angeles to 

organize and form the Western Development Division, predecessor to the Air Force’s Ballistic Missiles 

Systems Division. 

General Schriever made his most significant contributions in the development of the Air Force’s 

intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program. 

In May 1954, the Air Force assigned the Atlas 

missile top priority and directed that only technological concerns limit the speed of its development. 

Schriever became manager of the program at the 

Western Development Division Headquarters. 

Schriever’s headquarters had once been a parochial school.

(Courtesy SMC History Office)
11

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

request of Trevor Gardner in mid-1954 after it had 

suffered many challenges, including low prioritization and indecision. General Schriever required that 

he be given broad authority to complete his task. In 

August 1954, Schriever assumed command of the 

Western Development Division (WDD) and also 

served as Assistant to the Commander, ARDC. 

This second title gave the general a path around 

much of the bureaucracy. 

Schriever’s WDD gained the Titan project as a 

parallel to the Atlas missile program as well as the 

Thor, Navaho, and Snark missile programs. And, 

while the Navaho did not result in an operational missile, its builder, North American, went on to 

develop the rocket engines for military missiles and 

space launch vehicles. By 1956, Schriever had succeeded in having WDD named as the responsible 

agency for the development of satellite systems. In 

early 1957, he gave a controversial speech in San Diego calling for the United States to establish space 

superiority. Less than eight months later, the Soviet 

Union launched Sputnik I, the world’s first manmade satellite. The National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, established in October 1958, relied 

heavily on the Air Force’s Thor, Atlas, and Titan 

missiles as boosters for its space operations. Then, 

on February 28, 1959, the Air Force launched Discoverer I from Vandenberg AFB, California, and 

laid the foundation for the era of satellite-based 

reconnaissance with the launch of Discoverer 14, 

on August 18, 1960.

In 1959, General Schriever received promotion to 

lieutenant general and assumed command of the 

Air Research and Development Command. There, 

he implemented concurrency in systems development and acquisition. Concurrency, a concept in 

which the Air Force initiated the conceptual phase of a new system then 

handed the acquisition to systems centers that refined the system during its 

operational phase, had served WDD 

well in the development of its assigned 

programs. This approach compressed 

acquisition time and got new systems into the hands of operators more 

quickly.

As head of ARDC, Schriever pushed 

to have all responsibility for weapon systems acquisition transferred to 

his command from the Air Materiel 

Command (AMC). He had faced this 

challenge as commander of the WDD, 

as well. Despite some success, General 

Samuel E. Anderson, then commander 

of the AMC, objected to further integrations and proposed a reorganization 

that would put ARDC under AMC, a 

proposal to which Schriever objected. The generals each stuck to their positions, and no resolution 

occurred for the next two years. During the Kennedy administration, General Thomas D. White, 

Air Force Chief of Staff, sided with Schriever, and 

the reorganization occurred on Schriever’s terms. 

ARDC became the Air Force Systems Command 

with General Schriever, who received his fourth 

General Schriever discusses the mobile Minuteman project with

Boeing president William Allen and Major General Osmond Ritland.
12

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

star, at the helm; AMC became the Air Force Logistics Command. Schriever established the Space 

Systems Division at Los Angeles in April 1961. 

He remained in command of the Air Force Systems Command until his retirement on August 31, 

1966.

In June 1998, Falcon AFB in Colorado was renamed in honor of General Schriever, recognizing 

his significant contributions to Air Force missile 

and space programs. 

General Bernard Adolph Schriever died on June 

20, 2005 at his home in Washington, D.C. 

General Schriever took great personal pride that, 

in his many years of dealing with industry, not one 

official protest was lodged concerning irregularity 

in selecting contractors for the enormously costly 

ballistic missile programs. Schriever himself often 

was singled out by lobbyists seeking favorable treatment for their clients. All failed. Schriever built a 

record of unquestionable integrity.

Elizabeth Schriever with sons Bernard 

(right) and Gerhard (center). Unknown 

date. Following her husband’s death 

in an industrial accident, Elizabeth, 

lacking job skills and English fluency, 

became the family’s sole source 

of support. Eventually, she found 

work as housekeeper for a wealthy 

San Antonio, Texas family and 

sold homemade sandwiches and 

cold beverages to golfers at the 

Breckinridge municipal golf course, 

which bordered on her small house—

built for her by her employer.

(Photo courtesy Schriever family)
13

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

In high school, Bennie earned money doing chores and caddying 

at the local golf course. He became an exceptional golfer and won 

the San Antonio, Texas, Junior Amateur Championship in 1931. He 

was featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not for thrice hitting a drive 

more than 300 yards to the same green and one-putting for eagle. 

Following his graduation from Texas A&M University, he faced the 

choice of becoming a professional golfer or, because he had been 

an ROTC cadet, accepting a reserve commission in the U.S. Army 

field artillery. He chose the latter, but soon became interested in 

flying and transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps.

(Photo courtesy Schriever family)
14

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Aviation Cadet Bennie Schriever, shown 

here in his flying gear, attended initial 

flying training at Randolph Field (now a 

component of Joint Base San Antonio) 

near San Antonio, Texas, and then 

underwent advanced flying training 

at Kelly Field (later Kelly AFB and now 

Kelly Field Annex), in San Antonio, Texas. 

Despite his love of flying, his aptitude in 

mechanics and engineering would play 

a much larger role in his career than he 

probably imagined as a young aviator.

(Photo courtesy Schriever family)
15

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

Following the completion of training, Bennie Schriever received his 

commission as a second lieutenant and transferred to March Field 

(now March Air Reserve Base), near Riverside, California. At March 

Field, Lieutenant Schriever joined the 7th Bombardment Group 

as a pilot under the command of Major Carl A. Spaatz. The 7th 

Bombardment Group operated the Curtiss B-2 Condor and Keystone 

B-4 Panther bombers. He moved with the 7th Bombardment Group 

to Hamilton Field (formerly Marin County Air Field). Schriever then 

flew airmail from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 

ill-equipped O-38 (photo) and B-4 aircraft. The experience in 

the “airmail fiasco” instilled in the young officer an appreciation 

for the price to be paid for inferior or inadequate technology.

(Photo courtesy Schriever family)
16

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Schriever left the Air Corps in 1935 to pursue a career as a commercial 

pilot. When he did not receive a position with an airline, however, he 

found employment as the commander of a Civilian Conservation Corps 

encampment in New Mexico. That job ended in 1936, and he received a 

regular Air Corps commission, being stationed at Albrook Field, Panama, 

with the 19th Wing. There he served as a P-12 pilot and assistant to 

Brigadier General George H., Brett. He married General Brett’s eldest 

daughter, Dora, in January 1937 in the Washington, D.C., home of 

Brigadier General Henry H. Arnold. This P-12 is painted in the colors for 

the 6th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, Wheeler Field, Hawaii.

This B-18, Bolo, aircraft is similar to that flown by Lieutenant Schriever 

when he returned to active duty in 1938 following a brief tenure as 

a commercial pilot with Northwest Airlines. As war clouds gathered 

over the Pacific, Schriever moved to Wright Field, Ohio, as a test pilot. 

While there, he attended the Air Corps engineering school. The Air 

Corps then sent him to Stanford University to complete a master’s 

degree in aeronautical engineering. The Army Air Forces denied his 

request for assignment to a combat unit following the Pearl Harbor 

attack, requiring him to remain in California to finish his graduate work.
17

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

By July 1942, Major Schriever had his combat assignment and joined the 

19th Bombardment Group in Australia. Despite his prowess as a bomber 

pilot—he flew thirty-eight combat missions in B-17s, B-25s, and C-47s—

Schriever’s commanders believed his skills and knowledge in engineering 

made him more valuable as the group’s chief of maintenance. When 

the 19th was ordered back to the states, General George C. Kenney 

held Schriever in the Pacific, making him chief of the Maintenance 

and Engineering Division, 5th Air Force Service Command, in January 

1943. His responsibilities and rank rose quickly and he assumed 

command of the advance headquarters, Far East Air Service Command 

responsible for maintenance for the 5th, 7th, and 13th Air Forces. He was 

promoted to colonel in December 1943. (Photos courtesy Schriever family)
18

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Lieutenant General (Retired) Jimmy Doolittle 

was a proponent of Schriever’s campaign, with 

a small cadre of other officers led by Major 

General Donald L. Putt, to establish a deputy 

chief of staff for development on the air staff. The 

Ridenour Committee later reported the results 

of their study, which concluded that Air Force 

research and development would be improved 

with the creation of a research and development 

command. The Air Force established Research 

and Development Command (later Air Research 

and Development Command) in 1950. ARDC 

was redesignated Air Force Systems Command 

on April 1, 1961. It inactivated on July 1, 1992.
19

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

Trevor Gardner congratulates Schriever on his promotion to 

major general in December 1955, after he assumed command 

of the Western Development Division the previous year. 

General Schriever also served as Assistant to the Commander, 

Air Research and Development Command. As the Assistant 

to the Commander, ARDC, Schriever was able to circumvent 

much of the organizational bureaucracy in managing the 

weapons systems he was charged with developing. As the 

Commander, Western Development Division, Schriever 

advocated for the development of a second ICBM for 

the Air Force. That proposal became the Titan ICBM. 
20

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Also in 1956, General Schriever proposed, then oversaw, deployment of the Thor 

Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in England. Thor (right) became the Air Force’s 

first ballistic missile system on alert during the Cold War. He also proposed and 

oversaw development of an upper-stage booster for the Atlas missile to support the 

Air Force’s developing satellite program. That booster, the Agena (left), became the 

workhorse of the Air Force satellite program and carried many of the early satellites, 

including CORONA and MIDAS intelligence satellites, into high orbits around Earth. 

The WDD also gained responsibility for the Navaho and Snark missile programs.
21

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

In 1957, Western Development Division became the 

Ballistic Missile Division, and General Schriever remained 

its commander. Citing advancements in rocket propellants, 

casings, and vector controls, Schriever proposed the 

Air Force deploy a small, solid-fueled ICBM in large 

quantities. That missile, originally designated Weapon 

System Q, became the Minuteman. The program included 

early designs for a rail mobile version that would be less 

susceptible to Soviet attack. Its development also led to 

the development of submarine launched ballistic missiles. 

In February 1957, Schriever gave a speech in San Diego, 

California, where he called for the United States to obtain 

and maintain space superiority. Although admonished by 

Air Force senior leaders for being so outspoken, Schriever 

gained popular plaudits. On April 1, Time magazine 

put him on the cover as “Missileman Schriever”.
22

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

In 1959, Schriever was promoted to lieutenant 

general and assumed command of Air Research and 

Development Command. He proposed development 

of a reusable space vehicle. The Aerothermodynamic/

Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Test (ASSET) 

was a reusable spacecraft developed by ARDC (later 

renamed Air Force Systems Command). ASSET carried 

an instrumentation package that recorded the effects 

of reentry and flat gliding on space vehicles. The ASSET 

missions provided important information to engineers and 

scientists who were developing NASA’s space shuttle.
23

General Bernard Adolph Schriever

A RAND report in 1946 cited the many effects that 

could be delivered from space—communications, 

weather, reconnaissance and intelligence, among 

those. By 1956, the Western Development Division 

had been given the responsibility for developing the 

U.S. military’s first space systems, as well as its missile 

programs. While missile systems remained the priority, 

work began on Weapon System 117L, which by 1959 

had evolved into three separate programs--Discoverer, 

the Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS), and the 

Satellite and Missile Observation System (SAMOS).

Discoverer I was the world’s first polar orbiting 

satellite. The first of its series launched on February 

28, 1959, on a Thor/Agena booster. The program 

under that name continued until February 1962, 

then fell under the secret code name CORONA and 

continued for another decade. The film canister 

payloads from Discoverer and CORONA missions 

were recovered by aircraft as they deorbited. In 

this photo, Lieutenant General Schriever (center 

right), Major General Osmond J. Ritland (center left), 

General Thomas D. White, Air Force Chief of Staff, 

and Colonel Lee Battle, CORONA Program Manager, 

discuss the recovery of the Discoverer XIII capsule—

the first object recovered from space. The capsule 

carried no film, only an instrumentation package.
On April 1, 1961, under a reorganization of research, development, and acquisition functions, 

Air Research and Development 

Command became Air Force 

Systems Command. General 

Schriever received his fourth 

star and stayed in command of 

the newly designated organization, remaining its commander 

until his retirement on August 

31, 1966. 

Jacob Neufeld summarized 

General Schriever’s career.

“He will be best remembered as 

the architect of the Air Force’s 

missile and space programs, 

but his influence went far 

beyond that. He also introduced 

systems management and 

operations research; project 

management; and systems 

engineering. Thus, he achieved 

the mission he had vowed to 

carry out when he flew the 

airmail in 1934, ensuring America’s aerospace superiority. And he far exceeded his assignment from Hap Arnold in 1945, “to maintain the close ties 

between the Air Force and the scientific community.” So successfully did Schriever merge science and engineering with military procedures that he 

created a methodology that became the standard throughout the Defense Department for many years.”

Schriever remained active in government following his retirement, serving on numerous advisory boards and as a consultant. He remained a tireless 

advocate of advanced technology research. Before retiring, General Schriever told a meeting of the Arnold Air Society: “The world has an ample supply 

of people who can always come up with a dozen good reasons why a new idea will not work and should not be tried, but the people who produce 

progress are a breed apart. They have the imagination, the courage, and the persistence to find solutions.”

General Schriever died at his home in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2005.
25

General Schriever performed an important role in establishing the organizational 

structures that would develop and build 

the initial U.S. space capabilities, including satellites and missile systems, but also the infrastructure 

to support those systems.

The Western Development Division, created in 

1954, by 1956, had been given responsibility for 

the development of satellite systems as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles. President Dwight 

Eisenhower announced the first U.S. scientific 

satellite program and the Air Research and Development Command transferred development of 

Weapon System 117L, the first Air Force satellite 

program, from the Wright Air Development Center to WDD on October 10, 1955. Weapon System 

117L included three separate programs, the Discoverer reconnaissance satellite, the Missile Defense 

Alarm System (MIDAS), and the Satellite and 

Missile Observation System (SAMOS). In 1956, 

the U.S. government awarded Lockheed Missiles 

and Space Company a contract for development of 

the country’s first reconnaissance satellite. The missile program had the highest priority, however, and 

work on satellite systems was often underfunded. 

On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik 

I, the world’s first man-made satellite. The Soviets 

followed that with the successful launch of the first 

biological specimen, a dog named Laika, into orbit 

on November 3, 1957. The Sputnik launches resulted in improved funding for the WDD’s satellite 

programs as some military and government officials feared a Soviet advantage in the development 

of satellite systems.

Following these Soviet “firsts,” the United States 

made quick headway, despite some early setbacks. 

On December 6, 1957, the U.S. attempt to launch 

the Naval Research Laboratory’s TV3 satellite using a Vanguard rocket failed two seconds into the 

launch. The rocket fell back onto the launch pad 

rupturing the fuel tanks and causing an explosion. 

On January 31, 1958, the United States responded 

with the launch of Explorer I. It carried a cosmic 

ray detection experiment developed by Dr. James 

Van Allen, a physicist at the University of Iowa. 

The satellite detected fewer cosmic rays in its orbit, which ranged from 220 miles to 1,563 miles 

above the Earth, than Van Allen had anticipated. 

Van Allen theorized that the satellite’s instrumentation had been saturated by passing through a belt 

of very strong radiation trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. The next successful U.S. satellite launch, 

on March 17, 1958, carried Explorer III aloft using 

a Vanguard rocket. That satellite confirmed Van 

Allen’s theory with the discovery of the Van Allen 

radiation belts. The intermediate Explorer launch, 

Explorer II, was terminated when the Jupiter C 

rocket’s fourth-state failed to ignite.

President Eisenhower signed legislation formally 

establishing the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration effective on October 1, 1958, to 

oversee the U.S. civil space program. NASA’s first 

launch, Pioneer 1, occurred on October 11, 1958. 

Then, on December 6, 1958, NASA launched Pioneer 3, the first U.S. satellite to achieve an orbit 

of 63,580 miles. The Air Force, on December 

18, 1958 placed a communications relay satellite, 

Project Score, into orbit aboard an Atlas booster. 

President Eisenhower’s 1958 Christmas message 

was beamed from the satellite and the president’s 

voice became the first beamed from space.

In its November 1958 Military Space Program 

Plan, the Department of Defense identified five 

primary functions for satellite systems. These included navigation, meteorology, communications, 

missile detection and space defense, and earth 

observation. In the spring of 1959, the Air Force 

added eight additional tasks for space assets including maintenance and supply of space vehicles, 

a manned moon station, bombardment satellites, 

and a manned detection, warning, and reconnaissance space vehicle.

Under General Schriever’s direction, and benefitting from his talented team of managers, 

contractors, engineers, and scientists, the United 

States fielded its first- and second-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles and, on February 

28, 1959, launched Discoverer I, the pathfinder satellite for a new space-based reconnaissance 

program. Discoverer I served as a test platform for 

guidance and booster systems. It transmitted telemetry intermittently until it deorbited on March 

17, 1959. The Discoverer Program ultimately 

USAF SATELLITE OPERATIONS, 1960-1980
26

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

included thirty-eight satellite launches before it 

formally ended in February 1962. Thereafter, the 

reconnaissance program begun under Discoverer 

continued, under the top secret code name CORONA, for another decade.

Satellites on orbit require ground stations for tracking, telemetry, and ultimately commanding. The 

creation of a network of such stations to conduct 

these satellite support tasks would take a number 

of years to complete. By 1958, the Ballistic Missile 

Division (renamed from the Western Development Division) determined that tracking stations 

in addition to those supporting missile tests in the 

Western Range were required. Beginning with assets in use at the Western Range, the Air Force 

began establishing satellite tracking stations around 

the globe and moved to add Vandenberg AFB and 

Point Mugu, California; Ka’ena Point, Hawaii; and 

Kodiak, Alaska, to the network.

The Air Force quickly realized it needed an organization dedicated to on-orbit commanding and 

controlling of satellites. On April 6, 1959, the 

6594th Test Wing activated at Lockheed’s facility 

in Palo Alto, California, and the Air Force Satellite Control Network was born. At its activation, 

the 6594th included three operating locations--Edwards Air Force Base, California; Chiniak, Alaska; 

and Annette Island, Alaska. Later in the year, 

stations at Vandenberg AFB, California; Ka’ena 

Point, Hawaii; and New Boston, New Hampshire, 

joined the wing. In March 1960, the wing moved 

to Sunnyvale, California, and in June of that year, 

the installation, designated Air Force Satellite Control Center, opened. Later, the installation would 

be renamed Onizuka Air Force Station. The wing 

was redesignated 6594th Aerospace Test Wing in 

1961 and reassigned to the newly created Space 

Systems Division.

Meanwhile, expansion and modernization of the 

satellite tracking stations continued as the United States began developing communications and 

weather satellite systems. By the end of 1961, the 

network consisted of the main node at Sunnyvale 

and tracking stations at Vandenberg, Kodiak Island, Ka’ena Point, New Boston, Thule, Annette 

Island, Fort Greely, and by 1962, on the Seychelles 

island of Mahe in the Indian Ocean. By June 1962, 

the network was able to support multiple satellite 

operations. Network operators supported as many 

as ten programs, including their primary mission, 

CORONA.

The AFSCN gained responsibility for all ICBM 

testing and space tracking activities in 1963, 

and its organization and operations continued to 

expand. Recognizing the need for a new organizational construct to meet the growing requirements 

of the network, the Air Force established the Air 

Force Satellite Control Facility as an organization in June 1965. The AFSCF operated remote 

tracking stations around the world and conducted satellite telemetry, tracking, and commanding 

tasks now performed by the 50th Space Wing’s 

space operations squadrons.

The Guam Tracking Station opened in September 

1965 as the first mobile facility, though permanent structures were soon constructed. The Los 

Angeles-based AFSCF was comprised of a support 

squadron and detachment at Sunnyvale, the tracking stations, and the 6594th Recovery Control 

Group, which was charged with the primary task 

of recovering CORONA satellite payloads. The 

group also conducted rescue missions in the Pacific and supported NASA’s Apollo space launches. 

The 6594th Recovery Control Group inactivated in 1986 after recovering tens of thousands of 

film canisters ejected from once-classified satellites, 

such as CORONA, Hexagon and Gambit.

The network also continued its support for NASA 

activities, especially for the Apollo lunar missions 

and other experimental programs. The AFSCN 

would later support NASA during operations of its 

planned Space Transportation System. Supporting 

these new systems required improved and expanded facilities. The Sunnyvale, California, site had 

served as the center of that expansion.

As the development of satellite technology advanced, new opportunities to field systems that 

enhanced military capability presented themselves. Sir Arthur C. Clarke wrote of the feasibility 

of manned, geostationary-orbiting communication satellites in 1945. A RAND report in 1946 

also proposed effects that could be delivered from 
27

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

satellite platforms, including reconnaissance and 

intelligence, weather, and communications. Less 

than a decade later, John R. Pierce, working for 

Bell Telephone Laboratories, wrote of the utility of 

communications “repeaters” in space. On June 16, 

1966, the Air Force launched the first initial Defense Satellite Communications System satellites 

from the Eastern Space and Missile Complex at 

Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense, by 

the early-1960s and following the success of the 

first Television Infra-Red Observation Satellite 

(TIROS) meteorological satellites, had begun development of the Defense Meteorological Satellite 

Program, a sun-synchronous orbiting satellite using 

visual and infrared sensors to collect twice daily weather imagery for use in military operational 

planning. Concurrently, the military services were 

involved in the development of various pathfinder satellite-based navigation systems. The U.S. 

Navy successfully launched its first Transit navigation satellite in 1960 and, in 1967, the first of 

its TIMATION (Time Navigation) satellites. The 

U.S. Army developed the Sequential Correlation 

of Range (SECOR) satellites, while the U.S. Air 

Force began work on Program 621B. In 1968, 

the Department of Defense created the Navigation Satellite Executive Committee to coordinate 

the efforts of these organizations. A joint program 

office, established in 1973 under Air Force leadership, merged the Navy’s TIMATION program 

and the Air Force’s Program 621B under the name 

NAVSTAR Global Positioning System. The Navy’s 

TIMATION-IV, renamed as Navigation Technology Satellite-2, launched June 23, 1977, as the first 

NAVSTAR GPS demonstration satellite managed 

by the joint program office. The first GPS satellite, 

NAVSTAR-1, launched February 22, 1978, with 

ten additional satellite launches during the next 

seven years, culminating October 9, 1985.

From the MIDAS program that had been a component of WS 117L came the Defense Support 

Program ballistic missile warning satellite. First 

launched in November 1970 from the Eastern 

Space and Missile Complex, DSP became the 

foundational system for missile warning. With 

twenty-three launches over the next twenty-seven 

years, the satellite evolved through five generations. The first block launched from 1970 to 1973. 

The Air Force launched three Block II satellites 

from 1975-1977 and followed with the Block III, 

Multi-Orbit Satellite Performance Improvement 

Modification on four satellites between 1979 and 

1984. Block IV, an upgrade to the Block II platform, occurred from 1984 to 1987 and was carried 

aboard two vehicles. The fifth generation of DSP 

satellites launched from 1989 until 2007.
28

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

While tasked, in 1956, to develop U.S. military satellites in conjunction with their

work on ICBMs, WDD (later renamed Ballistic Missile Division) satellite programs

were underfunded compared to the missile programs that held highest priority.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I. The U.S. responded

by hastening the production and launch of Explorer I on January 31, 1958. By then,

the Soviet Union had already launched its second satellite, Sputnik II, carrying the

dog Laika, and claimed first place in orbiting a biological specimen. Despite

these “firsts” for the Soviets, General Schriever believed the United States held

a technological advantage over the Soviets. 
29

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

In February 1959, the United States Air Force launched Discoverer I, a 

pathfinder to test the performance capabilities of the propulsion and 

guidance systems of the program’s satellite. The 618.0 kg satellite launched 

from Vandenberg AFB aboard a Thor booster. Discoverer I was 5.73 

meters long and 1.52 meters in diameter. It consisted of an Agena upper 

stage capped by a conical nose cone comprised of a magnesium casing. 

The payload, consisting of communications and telemetry equipment 

was housed in the nose cone. This developmental satellite carried no 

camera or film payload. Discoverer I was the world’s first polar orbiting 

satellite and continued to transmit telemetry data until it deorbited in 

March 1959. Discoverer XIV provided the first photographs of the Soviet 

land mass in August 1960. As the Agena A passed over Alaska on its 

seventeenth orbit, it ejected the film capsule. After the capsule reentered 

the atmosphere, it deployed a parachute that was spotted by the crew 

of a C-119J of the 6593rd Test Squadron (Special). The crew successfully 

snagged the parachute on the third pass and reeled the film capsule 

aboard. This was the first aerial recovery of an object returning from 

orbit and the first aerial recovery of film from an orbiting satellite. 
30

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

By 1959, the Air Force realized it needed an organization 

specifically to conduct its satellite tracking and commanding 

functions. The Air Force organized the 6594th Aerospace Test 

Wing at the Lockheed Missile and Space Facility at Palo Alto, 

California, and assigned the organization to the Air Research and 

Development Command (later redesignated Air Force Systems 

Command). The unit was assigned to the Air Force Ballistic 

Missile Division of Air Research and Development Command on 

November 16, 1959. This new organization initially consisted of 

five squadrons. The 6595th Test Squadron joined the wing on 

February 20, 1961, and Detachment 1 at Donnelly Radio Relay 

Site in Delta Junction, Alaska, joined the wing on April 15, 1962. 
31

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

The 6594th Aerospace Test Wing operated only briefly from the Palo Alto 

facility. By 1961, a new control center had been constructed at the Air Force 

Satellite Test Center (later renamed Onizuka Air Force Base) near Sunnyvale, 

California. As military space operations grew, so did the Satellite Test 

Center. The Sunnyvale complex would serve Air Force and national space 

activities for the next fifty years under the management of a variety of military 

organizations. The 6594th Aerospace Test Wing included tracking stations at 

Ka’ena Point, Hawaii (1959); Vandenberg AFB, California (1959); New Boston, 

New Hawmpshire (1959); Kodiak, Alaska (1959); Seychelles, British Indian 

Ocean Territory (1962); and Thule Air Base, Greenland (1962). The station at 

Annette Island, Alaska, which became operational by November 1958, closed 

in 1963. Its responsibilities were assumed by the Kodiak Island station. In 

1965, the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, a named organization, replaced 

the 6594th Aerospace Test Wing as the primary network organization.
32

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Before the recovery of the Discoverer XIV film capsule, the Television 

Infra-Red Observation Satellite (TIROS), designed by the Radio 

Corporation of America (RCA) launched into orbit on April 1, 1960. 

TIROS-1, the world’s first weather observation satellite, took images of 

the Earth’s cloud cover from an orbit of 450 miles. Although it operated 

for only seventy-eight days, the satellite demonstrated the feasibility of 

monitoring Earth’s cloud cover and weather patterns from orbit. TIROS 

provided the first accurate weather forecasts from space-based data. In 

1962, the USAF orbited the first of the Defense Meteorological Satellite 

Program (DMSP) satellites as Program 35, then later re-designated as 

the Data Acquisition and Processing Program. Initially, DMSP was highly 

classified and run by the National Reconnaissance Office, in support 

of the CORONA program and its first reconnaissance satellites.
33

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

In 1965, the Air Force added the Guam Tracking Station as Operating Location 10, 

Air Force Satellite Control Facility, opening the network’s first mobile facility. Work 

quickly began, however, on the construction of permanent facilities. The tracking 

station’s staffing stood initially at fifty-six persons, most of whom were civilian 

contractors of the Philco company. Major Steven A. King, station commander, 

described the arrival of Philco family members in his first monthly report:

“The wives of OL 10 personnel are beginning to arrive on Guam. To date, eleven 

Philco families are living on the Island. All seem affected to some degree by the 

substandard housing that exists on Guam, by the high cost of living, and by the 

oppressive heat and humidity. A period of at least one month seems necessary 

to become used to the tropical conditions on Guam. Any wives who are the least 

squeamish about bugs will probably require a longer period.”
34

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The Air Force was not the only military 

department developing satellite technology. 

In 1964, Naval Research Laboratory engineers, 

led by Mr. Roger Easton, conceived the Time/

Navigation (TIMATION) program, building 

upon the U.S. Navy Transit satellite. The U.S. 

Army, meanwhile, was working on its Sequential 

Correlation of Range (SECOR) satellite and 

the Air Force began development of Program 

621B. The U.S. Navy launched TIMATION 1 

in 1967. In 1968, the Department of Defense 

created the Navigation Satellite Executive 

Committee to coordinate the efforts of the 

three services. Then, in 1973, the creation of 

a joint program office under the leadership of 

the Air Force merged the TIMATION and 621B 

programs, creating the NAVSTAR program. 

The Navy’s next two TIMATION satellites 

were redesignated Navigation Technology 

Satellite (NTS) 1 and 2, with NTS-2, launched 

on June 23, 1977, the first NAVSTAR Global 

Positioning System (GPS) demonstration 

satellite managed by the joint program office. 

NAVSTAR -1, the first GPS experimental Block 

I satellite, launched on February 22, 1978, with 

ten additional satellite launches during the next 

seven years, culminating on October 9, 1985.
35

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

The rapidly increasing number of military and national satellites on orbit required growth in the organization supporting 

those satellites and conducting the network operations necessary to perform telemetry, tracking, and commanding (TT&C) 

functions. By 1973, the Air Force was expanding the facilities at the Air Force Satellite Test Center at Sunnyvale, California. This 

circa 1973 photo shows the construction of additional facilities at the U.S. Air Force Satellite Test Center. Later, the installation 

was renamed Sunnyvale Air Force Station. It retained that name until July 1987, when it was renamed Onizuka Air Force 

Base, to honor Lieutenant Colonel Ellison Onizuka, who was lost in the space shuttle Challenger disaster in January 1986.
36

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The first proposal for a geostationary communications satellite was made in 1945 by Arthur C. 

Clarke in a letter to Wireless World magazine. 

By the mid-1950s, the U.S. Navy was involved 

in Operation Moon Bounce with the objective 

of developing a reliable form of wireless 

communications by bouncing radio signals off 

the moon. Military Satellite Communications 

(MILSATCOM) systems advanced quickly in the 

years after Clarke’s proposal and by the 1980s, 

they played an important role in daily military 

operations and training. The Initial Defense 

Satellite Communications System (IDSCS) launched 

on June 16, 1966, and the DSCS II system that 

followed soon became the cornerstone of military 

satellite communications for U.S. forces. Nearly 

two years to the day later, on June 13, 1968, the 

last of the initial satellites, IDSCS 26, launched 

from the Eastern Space and Missile Center aboard 

a Titan 3C booster. Between 1971 and 1982, the 

Air Force launched fifteen Block II DSCS satellites.
37

USAF Satellite Operations, 1960-1980

The Defense Support Program satellites, first launched on 

November 6, 1970, represented an operational outgrowth from 

the MIDAS program that originated as a component of WS117L. Twenty-three DSP satellites were orbited by the time of the 

program’s last launch on November 10, 2007. The Defense Support 

Program has formed the backbone of the U.S. ballistic missile 

early warning system. DSP, then operated from Falcon Air Force 

Base, provided critical early warning of Iraqi scud missile launches 

during the 1991 Gulf War. That early warning gave forces and 

civilian populations time to shelter and also gave military forces the 

opportunity to launch counter measures. DSP satellites operate in 

the geosynchronous orbit belt at 22,300 miles over the equator.

39

The development and fielding of U.S. space 

systems, especially in support of military 

forces and other national functions, led 

rapidly to the need to expand the capabilities of the 

Air Force’s satellite control network. As requirements increased, they stretched the capabilities of 

Sunnyvale Air Force Station. Meanwhile, the civilian community near the installation grew rapidly 

and soon encroached on the site’s boundaries making future expansion problematic, to say the least. 

Exacerbating the encroachment issue, the Sunnyvale site also presented vulnerabilities, because it 

was bordered on two sides by Highways 237 and 

101, respectively. Furthermore, the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, the organization operating and 

supporting military and national satellite systems, 

and its home installation, provided the Air Force’s 

only centralized tracking, telemetry, and commanding capability. No backup capability existed! 

Loss of capabilities offered only at the Sunnyvale 

site, whether to enemy action, earthquake, or other cause, would seriously and negatively affect the 

U.S. ability to conduct military satellite operations.

To counter these issues, Department of Defense officials, in early 1979, approved the concept for an 

operations-focused installation to provide a backup control node for support of existing and planned 

satellite constellations (a satellite operations center 

(SOC)), and to house an operations support center for NASA’s space shuttle from which military 

shuttle operations would be planned (the shuttle 

operations center (SOPC)). Some Air Force leaders 

saw the space shuttle as a potentially cost-effective 

method of orbiting satellites. In 1979, the DoD selected the first thirteen candidates from all services 

for the Military Spaceflight Engineer (space shuttle 

payload specialist) program to support DoD missions aboard the space shuttle. Another fourteen 

Air Force officers were selected in 1982, and the 

final five in 1985.

Approval of this concept began the history of what 

would become Schriever Air Force Base on the high 

plains of Colorado, approximately ten miles east of 

Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

Over the next two years, Air Force officials evaluated many possible sites for the CSOC, eventually 

winnowing a list to twelve potential locations. By 

1981, these twelve sites had been winnowed to two 

locations—Kirtland AFB in New Mexico, and 

Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Although lacking land for expansion, Peterson AFB 

provided the advantages of proximity to the Space 

Defense Operations Center (SPADOC) at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and the growing 

space industry along Colorado’s Front Range. Kirtland AFB, however, offered surplus floor space to 

support administrative functions, thereby reducing some of the initial construction costs. When 

Kirtland was recommended to Dr. Hans Mark, 

Undersecretary of the Air Force, Dr. Mark believed 

the siting criteria did not present a clear choice 

of Kirtland AFB. He asked for a re-examination 

of the criteria and added that the CSOC should 

provide a SOC, the SOPC, and should also house 

the NAVSTAR GPS control center. This reconsideration resulted in four primary candidates, adding 

Luke and Malmstrom AFBs to the candidate list. 

However, concerns by Tactical Air Command officials on the effect the CSOC would potentially 

have on training eliminated Luke AFB from further consideration.

Aerospace Defense Command, located in Colorado Springs, advocated in favor of Colorado Springs 

citing the proximity of its planned SPADOC, 

which could be linked to the CSOC, and emphasized that approximately 500 acres of available land 

east of Peterson AFB could be acquired for $600 to 

$700 per acre. This parcel was outside the air traffic pattern for the Peterson AFB/Colorado Springs 

Airport and met the other safety requirements. 

Still, the second analysis favored Kirtland AFB. 

Dr. Mark and the Air Force’s senior military leadership raised questions about the analysis and 

asked General James E. Hill, Commander in 

Chief, Aerospace Defense Command, to study 

the operational considerations of the site selection. General Hill responded that the decision 

on location of the CSOC “went beyond the initial analyses.” He pointed to the operational and 

organizational gains to be realized by co-locating 

the CSOC in Colorado Springs, reasoning that 

these considerations “must weigh heavily on the final decision.” Ultimately, General Hill’s reasoning 

prevailed and on December 20, 1979, Dr. Mark 

CREATING A CONSOLIDATED SPACE OPERATIONS CENTER
40

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

announced to the public that the CSOC would be 

located on one of three parcels of land under consideration east of Colorado Springs. Two of those 

parcels were owned by the State of Colorado and 

the other one privately held.

Ultimately, the Air Force chose parcels owned by 

the State of Colorado. Following negotiations, the 

state granted the federal government a deed to approximately 640 acres of land a few miles south of 

the intersection of Highway 94 and Enoch Road. 

On May 17, 1983, contractors broke ground on 

what would become Falcon Air Force Station, 

named for the nearby unincorporated town north 

of the installation. For over two years, contractors 

worked to complete sufficient facilities to open the 

base, including headquarters and operations buildings, support facilities, and infrastructure. 

When the ground-breaking ceremony for Falcon 

AFS occurred on May 17, 1983, early estimates 

suggested a workforce totaling nearly 2,000 persons at full operational capability. The initial 

construction focused on operational and technical facilities and administrative workspaces to 

support those activities. Construction occurred in 

two phases. In the first phase, with a price tag of 

$6 million, the Schmidt-Tiago company, based in 

Colorado Springs, completed the excavation and 

related work for the installation, its roadways and 

parking lots. On March 1, 1984, three weeks after 

being awarded the contract for the “vertical construction” of the installation, crews from Bechtel 

National Incorporated of San Francisco began the 

second phase. 

On July 8, 1985, the 2nd Space Wing activated in a 

ceremony at Falcon Air Force Station, although the 

installation was not complete enough to allow the 

new wing to occupy the facilities. A ribbon-cutting 

ceremony on September 26, 1985, symbolized the 

activation of Falcon AFS. Initial construction costs 

totaled $91,450,000, less than two-thirds of the 

amount appropriated. On December 1, 1985, Air 

Force Space Command activated the 1st Manned 

Spaceflight Control Squadron at NASA’s Lyndon B. 

Johnson Space Center. This squadron would assume 

primary responsibility for operational planning for 

military space shuttle missions. Unfortunately, 

budget constraints and the loss of the shuttle Challenger in January 1986 led to the discontinuance of 

the Air Force’s military shuttle program and the termination of the SOPC at Falcon AFS; the 1 MSCS 

inactivated on June 30, 1989.

Over the next two years, the 2nd Space Wing’s 

growing team prepared the installation for the 

eventual turnover of system responsibilities from 

Sunnyvale and Vandenberg AFB (the GPS Control 

Center) to Falcon Air Force Station. Meanwhile, 

contractors continued their efforts to complete the 

initial facilities that would house the new satellite 

operations centers. Air Force Systems Command 

and Air Force Space Command developed a threephase plan to transition satellite operations from the 

Onizuka and Vandenberg sites to the Consolidated 

Space Operations Center. That plan would culminate with the final turnover of the communications 

segment in the summer of 1993, symbolized by a 

final turnover ceremony on September 27, 1993.

By 1987, the host 2nd Space Wing’s satellite control crews already had begun limited operations 

for some satellite systems. Much of the daily operations were related to training crews on the systems 

and conducting operations under the supervision 

of contractor or Air Force Systems Command personnel. Operational turnovers of specific satellite 

systems were based on the wing’s ability to meet 

established criteria for crew training and readiness, 

hardware and software capability and support, and 

other factors agreed upon by the working groups 

managing the processes. 

The establishment of a military installation brought 

with it opportunities for commercial and residential 

development and economic growth. Several private 

companies including, by 1986, Nova Tech (an engineering company and defense contractor) and 

Forest City Enterprises (a real estate development 

company) eyed the area for development. At that 

time, Nova owned several large parcels near Falcon 

AFS and sought to purchase others for the development of the Nova Technological Center. Aerospace 

Centre and East Glen were other local developers proximate to the installation. Meanwhile, the 

Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners 

negotiated with Forest City Enterprises for the development of 16,000 acres of state land surrounding 
41

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

the new installation. The state’s master plan called 

for a mixed development of residential, commercial, industrial, and research enterprises.

This proposed development surrounding Falcon 

concerned Air Force officials. While local and 

headquarters commanders expressed support for 

some narrow development around the installation, 

they believed it should be limited to small ranchettes and agricultural uses such as grazing. These 

activities would be compatible with the level of 

security base leaders desired and prevent encroachment or interference with existing and planned 

mission expansions—issues that had hindered expansion at Onizuka Air Force Station. Air Force 

officials also sought to obtain additional land to 

create sufficient easements and buffers to prevent 

future mission-hampering encroachment. By February 1986, negotiations on land transfers began 

with the State of Colorado. These negotiations, 

combined with purchases and leases of privately 

owned parcels surrounding the installation, resulted in the Air Force’s acquisition of over 2,000 

additional acres. This provided the base with room 

to expand while maintaining an adequate buffer 

against encroachment.

The new installation also provided an opportunity 

for an expansion of the Air Force Satellite Control 

Network under the second phase of the automated remote tracking station (ARTS) upgrade. That 

contract provided for construction of the Colorado 

Tracking Station, call sign PIKE, at the new base. 

PIKE’s location in the interior was unique compared to other remote tracking stations, most of 

which were on islands or near the coast. It’s collocation with the second AFSCN control node allowed 

the site to be hard-wired to the network, which 

provided additional communications security.

Cost-cutting measures and international factors in 

1995-1996 led to the closure of the AFSCN’s Indian Ocean Tracking Station. Ten years later, budget 

issues led to a reduction at the Colorado Tracking Station from 24/7 operations to 40 hours per 

week—a first for a remote tracking station. Then, 

in 2012, additional budget cuts within the Department of Defense necessitated the closure of PIKE. 

Crews conducted PIKE’s final support on July 9, 

2012. Two years later, in September 2014, following the removal and transfer of PIKE’s antenna and 

some related equipment, crews began demolition of 

the site.

When Desert Shield began following the Iraqi 

invasion of Kuwait, Falcon AFB, as it was then 

named, was in this period of evolution. Many of 

the systems operated at the installation today by 

the 50th Space Wing were transitioning from other 

operational sites. The 1st Satellite Control Squadron (now named 1st Space Operations Squadron) 

had assumed operational responsibility for the 

Defense Support Program satellites that provided 

theater missile warning. The 2nd Satellite Control 

Squadron (now 2 SOPS) operated some Global 

Positioning System satellites, and the 3rd Satellite 

Control Squadron (now 3 SOPS), which activated 

on February 2, 1990, operated some military satellite communications systems, including the Defense 

Satellite Communications System. The 2nd Space 

Wing’s 1000th Space Operations Group operated the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, 

and the 2nd Satellite Tracking Group, operated the 

Air Force Satellite Control Network from Onizuka 

AFB supporting these and other national satellite 

systems. Each of these systems played an important 

part in Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

GPS and space-based navigation had been available to some U.S. forces for nearly a decade before 

1990. However, this availability was limited and 

consisted chiefly of the Block I experimental GPS 

satellites. The operational satellites, Block II, did 

not begin launching until 1989. By the time of the 

Gulf War, a variety of Air Force aircraft and some 

mostly experimental munitions were GPS equipped 

but Army and Marine Corps ground units were 

not well equipped. The Army, during its buildup, 

acquired nearly 5,000 GPS receivers, and troops 

were augmenting those with their own personal 

purchases. When the Gulf War started, the GPS 

constellation was only two thirds complete. Nevertheless, it provided invaluable positioning and 

navigation information to U.S. and allied forces.

In the run-up to the initiation of combat operations, 

the Air Force launched two GPS satellites on October 1 and November 26, 1990, and the 1st and 2nd 

SCS crews completed their actions to make them 
42

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

operationally available prior to the initiation of 

combat operations. At the 2nd Space Wing, the 2 

SCS maintained nearly 100 percent operational effectiveness. Crews also returned a non-operational 

satellite to service to provide additional capability. Soldiers and Marines bought their own GPS 

receivers and found ways to mount them on their 

vehicles and tanks. GPS made bombing and artillery fire much more accurate and reduced fratricide 

(friendly fire) incidents. Additionally, GPS contributed to the land forces’ ability to move quickly and 

at night with precision and for those forces to be 

supported with food and supplies. 

The ground war was over in 100 hours! Spacebased capabilities—positioning and navigation, 

space-based weather forecasting, and satellite based 

communications—each contributed to the success 

of the air campaign that crippled Iraqi infrastructure and contributed to the rapid defeat of Iraqi 

ground forces.

The Defense Support Program provided U.S. and 

coalition forces with advanced warning of Iraqi 

Scud attacks and provided opportunity for countermeasures and personnel sheltering. The DMSP 

weather capability, also operated by the 2nd Space 

Wing, played an important part in developing and 

implementing operational plans and the daily air 

combat plan. Targets, aircraft, and weapon loads 

could be selected based on highly accurate forecasts 

from space-based platforms. Military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) capabilities provided 

the by 3rd SCS were an integral part of campaign 

planning and execution. 

Desert Storm has been characterized by some military experts as the first space war. Indeed, it was 

the first time all U.S. military satellite systems were 

used extensively to support air, land, and sea operations during a conflict. The theater missile warning 

provided by DSP which was operated by the 1st 

SCS limited the effectiveness of Iraq’s scud missile 

attacks and saved many lives, coalition, U.S. Forces, and civilian. 

Lessons learned during the conflict affected 

Schriever AFB in ways seen and unseen. Some of 

those lessons occasioned the assignment of new 

organizations and programs to the base, while others principally affected the way in which the wing 

and its components conducted their missions. 

Changes to procedures and practices and the internal realignment of some unit functions sought to 

improve the wing’s and the base’s response to contingencies and its delivery of decisive global effects.
43

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

By the 1970s, barely twenty-five years after the 

United States launched its first satellite, the only 

Air Force facility for satellite tracking, telemetry, 

and commanding, the Air Force Satellite Test 

Center, near Sunnyvale, California, had nearly 

reached its operational capacity. Encroachment 

from the civilian community presented security 

concerns and prevented the physical expansion 

necessary for the installation to support new 

systems that were coming online. By the end of 

the decade, the newest satellite system, Global 

Positioning System Block I experimental satellites, 

were being launched and controlled from 

mobile facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
44

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The Air Force selected a site east of Colorado Springs as the home of the new 

Consolidated Space Operations Center. The site, situated about ten miles 

east of Peterson AFB, south of the intersection of state Highway 94 along 

Enoch Road in El Paso County, consisted of 640 acres of land obtained from 

the state in exchange for federal land holdings near Denver. The location had 

not been considered in the initial siting studies, which prompted allegations 

that the choice had been political. The location, however, provided the Air 

Force with opportunities to counter the kind of encroachment that had limited 

expansion of mission activity at the Satellite Test Center, near Sunnyvale, 

California. 
45

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

On May 17, 1983, contractors and Air Force officials ceremonially broke 

ground on the new Consolidated Space Operations Center and Falcon Air 

Force Station. Built under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers, 

the Air Force Systems Command was originally the agency responsible 

for construction of the installation, while Air Force Space Command would 

serve as the command responsible for operational tasks. This partnership 

remained until the completion of mission transitions and final turnover of the 

CSOC to Air Force Space Command in September 1993.

In this fall 1983 aerial view, a nearly completed Falcon Parkway appears in 

the foreground. The image also depicts construction offices, graded areas 

for the continuation of Falcon Parkway, the primary parking lot, and graded 

areas for the primary operational facilities in the upper left corner.
46

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Construction of the physical installation progressed quickly, as shown here in this undated 

image. Looking to the west, in the background (right), is building 300, which eventually 

would serve as the installation headquarters facility and administrative offices for some 

of the satellite control (later renamed space operations) squadrons. Left of building 300 

is building 400, destined to become the primary operations building and home to the 

satellite operations centers from which the base’s primary missions would be executed. 

The right center facility is building 500, which initially served as the base headquarters 

and administrative offices. In the center left, the base’s central power plant is visible.

On September 26, 1985, a ribbon cutting ceremony marked 

the opening of Falcon Air Force Station. The 2nd Space Wing, 

which was activated in July and had been operating from 

offices at Peterson AFB, began moving into the new facilities. 

Construction of administrative, operational, and technical work 

areas, however, continued, and the 2nd Space Wing’s cadre 

of about 200 personnel primarily worked in building 500.
47

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

The opening of Falcon Air Force Station was the first step in the 

development of the Consolidated Space Operations Center. The 

construction of necessary infrastructure, including operational centers 

and other facilities continued well into the late 1980s. By May 1987, 

most of the initial operations-focused facilities were complete, as 

was the Colorado Tracking Station, call sign PIKE. The Colorado 

Tracking Station had been contracted during the second phase of 

the Automated Remote Tracking Station (ARTS) program upgrade 

to the Air Force Satellite Control Network. Construction of the PIKE 

facility began in 1984, and the station became operational in 1989.
48

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Beginning in 1987, the Air Force Systems Command, following 

detailed and continuously updated plans developed with Air 

Force Space Command and the 2nd Space Wing, began the long 

process of transitioning mission operations for satellite tracking, 

telemetry, and commanding, as well as Air Force Satellite Control 

Network operations, from California locations to Falcon AFS. 

Global Positioning System operations were among the first to 

begin transitioning, with crews of the 1st and 2nd Satellite Control 

(later Space Operations) Squadrons conducting aspects of the 

GPS mission in 1987. The 2nd Satellite Control Squadron activated 

on Oct. 1, 1985, and personnel began relocating from the GPS 

operations center at Vandenberg AFB. The 1st Satellite Control 

Squadron activated on Oct. 5, 1987, to assume launch, early orbit, 

and anomaly resolution responsibilities. Operational turnover of 

the first GPS vehicle occurred on Dec. 21, 1988. Formal turnover of 

the GPS system to Air Force Space Command and the 2nd Satellite 

Control Squadron occurred on April 24, 1990. The base’s building 

400, named later to honor astronaut and Colorado Congressmanelect John “Jack” Swigert, housed the satellite operations centers.
49

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

As the new wing continued to expand knowledge and 

experience within its satellite crew force, the role of the 1st 

Satellite Control Squadron (later redesignated 1st Space 

Operations Squadron) changed as personnel trained in specific 

systems began to populate the 2nd and 3rd Satellite Control 

Squadrons. On February 23, 1989, the 1st SCS conducted 

its first transfer of satellite control authority for a Global 

Positioning System satellite to the 2nd Satellite Control 

Squadron. Over the next weeks, as the 1st SCS gained authority 

for the remaining nine GPS satellites, crews completed their 

check and began the process to transfer control to the 2nd 

SCS. The 1st retained some responsibility for GPS operations, 

including launch support, anomaly resolution, and disposal 

activities. It would continue these operations until the 

installation and operational acceptance of the Launch, Anomaly, 

and Disposal Operations (LADO) upgrade to the 2nd Space 

Operations Squadron’s command and control architecture.

On February 23, 1989, the 1 SCS transferred satellite control 

authority for GPS satellite II-1 to the 2 SCS.

GPS II-1 launched on February 14, 1989 and was the first GPS 

launch controlled from Falcon AFB and the first launch of the 

Block II operational satellites.
50

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The 1st Satellite Control Squadron also assumed some operational responsibilities for the 

Defense Support Program, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, and even initially 

the Defense Satellite Communications System. The 1st SCS then transitioned control to 

other squadrons, eventually winnowing its responsibilities to DSP operations and launch, 

early orbit, and anomaly resolution support for GPS operations. The 3rd Satellite Control 

Squadron, activated on Feb. 2, 1990, quickly assumed operational control of the DSCS 

system, adding to their mission command and control of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Satellite 

(FLTSAT) and the NATO III communications programs. Later, the unit would add the 

United Kingdom’s Skynet communications satellite to its list of supported programs. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

Defense Satellite Communications 

System Block II

Defense Support Program
51

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

Ultimately, the 2nd Space Wing, Falcon AFB’s host unit, managed 

assets around the globe. Its 2nd Satellite Tracking Group headquartered at Onizuka AFS, California, the former home of the Air 

Force Satellite Control Facility, operated and managed the various 

world-wide remote tracking stations. From Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 

the 1000th Space Group operated stations at Washington’s 

Fairchild AFB, and Maine’s Loring AFB, supporting the Defense 

Meteorological Satellite Program. A squadron at Onizuka, the 5th 

Satellite Control Squadron, also supported the DMSP mission. 

At Falcon AFB, the wing’s three satellite operations squadrons 

operated the Global Positioning System, the Defense Support 

Program, and a host of wideband satellite communication systems. 

The 2nd Space Wing, however, would not see its labors come 

to fruition. Prior to the formal turnover of the Consolidated 

Space Operations Center on Sept. 27, 1993, the 2nd Space Wing 

inactivated on January 30, 1992, and was replaced on that day 

by the 50th Space Wing, redesignated from 50th Tactical Fighter 

Wing. The 50th, “Master of the Sky,” had served in Europe for the 

preceding thirty-eight years, earning a distinguished history. To 

maintain that history, the 50th was chosen to activate at Falcon 

AFB and the “Master of the Sky” became the “Master of Space.”
52

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Indicative of the growing significance of the small base on 

the Colorado plains, Air Force Space Command activated, 

effective April 30, 1992, the 4th Strategic Reconnaissance 

Squadron, Medium, having previously redesignated it 4th 

Space Operations Squadron. The 4th would prepare for and 

then operate the Milstar communications satellite system, 

exercising platform control and communications payload 

management. Manufactured by Lockheed, Milstar was a joint 

service system that provided secure, jam-resistant, worldwide 

communications to meet the essential wartime requirements 

for high-priority military users. Each of the planned Milstar 

satellites served as a “smart” switchboard in space, directing 

traffic from terminal to terminal anywhere on Earth. The 

4 SOPS’ Milstar mission included a mobile capability to 

ensure continued service. Nearly two decades later, the 

squadron also would gain operational responsibility for the 

Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system.
53

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

In 1992, the 1st Space Operations Squadron was leading the 50th Space Wing’s efforts to convert many space operations billets from 

officer to enlisted. This multi-year program eventually encompassed all of the wing’s space operations squadrons and was projected to 

save approximately $10.5 million (in fiscal year 1991 dollars) in manpower costs as the wing converted nearly 200 officer billets to enlisted 

space operators. The squadron made news again in October 1994, when Technical Sergeant Kathy Rogers (center) was appointed as the 

wing’s first enlisted space operations flight chief. On December 22, 1994, an all enlisted crew consisting of Technical Sergeant Reginald 

Logan, Staff Sergeant Marvin Gielen, Jr., and Senior Airman Clay Hyink, completed first acquisition for a Defense Support Program 

satellite launch.
54

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Eight years after Falcon Air Force Station (later Falcon Air Force 

Base, Schriever Air Force Base) opened, the installation and 

its workforce were prepared to accept the final operational 

transfer to complete the transition of assigned missions to the 

Consolidated Space Operations Center. During a September 

27, 1993, ceremony, representatives from the Air Force Materiel 

Command, Air Force Space Command, and other organizations 

witnessed the formal transfer of the communications segment of 

the Air Force Satellite Control Network to the 50th Space Wing.
55

Creating a Consolidated Space Operations Center

On November 1, 1994, Air Force Space Command accepted from Air Force 

Materiel Command satellite control authority for the first of the Air Force’s 

newest satellite systems, Milstar Flight 1. Air Force Space Command 

then delegated that authority to the 50th Space Wing and the 4th Space 

Operations Squadron. Milstar Flight 1 launched on February 7, 1994.

Milstar provided the President, Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. 

Armed Forces with assured, survivable satellite communications, 

with a low probability of intercept and detection. The system was 

designed to overcome enemy jamming and nuclear effects and was 

DoD’s most robust and reliable satellite communications system.
General John E. Hyten, Air Force Space Command commander, declared the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness (GSSAP) satellites 

operational on September 29, 2015 following nearly a year of on-orbit testing. The 50th Space Wing’s 1st Space Operations Squadron began GSSAP 

operations following this announcement, continuing mission growth at Schriever AFB.
57

NEW MISSIONS, NEW UNITS: FALCON AFB GROWS

Activation of the 50th Space Wing (formerly 50th Tactical Fighter Wing) to operate 

Falcon AFB and assume its primary mission responsibilities, while important in the base’s 

history, was less significant than other actions that 

preceded and followed it. In the waning years of 

Ronald Reagan’s second term as president and 

during the George H. W. Bush Presidency, national 

space policy included emphasis on the possibilities 

of continental defense from space-based platforms. 

Early in the construction of Falcon AFS, the United States determined to locate the Joint National 

Test Facility, the research laboratory for President 

Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 

at the new installation. Construction of the JNTF 

(later renamed Joint National Integration Center 

(JNIC)) began in 1987 and was completed in 1990, 

in time for a visit by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The installation’s location, proximate 

to the growing “space corridor” along Colorado’s 

Front Range of the Rocky Mountains while still 

secluded from the growth of the Colorado Springs 

metropolitan area, provided the same protection 

against encroachment that had been a factor in the 

site’s selection as the home of the CSOC. The availability of additional land parcels at low cost, as well 

as the relatively inexpensive cost of utilities also 

were factors. Additionally, the site’s relative remoteness afforded a level of operational security lacking 

at other potential locations.

By the end of George H. W. Bush’s administration, interest in and funding for SDI declined. The 

Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA’s) Missile Defense 

Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) 

joined the Falcon Air Force Station team in 1988 

as the SDI Organization (SDIO) and shared facilities in the Jack Swigert Space Operations Facility 

until completion of the Joint National Test Facility 

in 1990. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin renamed 

the organization as the Ballistic Missile Defense 

Organization in 1993, and a major reorganization followed. The focus of the organization also 

changed over the course of time, from one centered 

on defense against a Soviet ballistic missile attack 

to concerns about a missile attack by rogue states or 

missile-capable terrorist organizations. In 1999, the 

JNTF was renamed JNIC and later renamed Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center.

The agency’s joint service team supported research and development, system-level tests and 

evaluation, and provided operational and training 

support to U.S. combatant commands. The Integration and Analysis Operations Center assisted 

in the integration of sensors and weapon systems 

by developing and implementing missile defense 

command, control, battle management, and communications capabilities. The center developed 

models and simulations for use in testing and 

training and provided support to exercises, system 

engineering, and analysis.

Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, Falcon AFS 

expanded. Continuing developments in space-related technologies added importance to Falcon’s 

consolidated space operations and brought new 

organizations and missions. Reflecting the installation’s growth in function and form, Falcon AFS 

was renamed Falcon Air Force Base on June 13, 

1988. While the installation’s physical character 

expanded, so did its mission activity. 

Throughout the 1990s, the installation’s organizations continued to develop and mature. As the 

Global Positioning System moved closer to initial operational capability, the Air Force activated 

Detachment 46 of the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Falcon AFS to support the Nuclear 

Detonation Detection System payload carried onboard GPS satellites. “Det 46”, as it was informally 

known, opened its operations center on November 

8, 1991. Planning for new missions also added units 

to the 50th Space Wing. Air Force Space Command activated the 4th Strategic Reconnaissance 

Squadron, effective April 30, 1992, and redesignated it the 4th Space Operations Squadron. The 

squadron would conduct the Milstar protected satellite communications mission when that system 

was fielded, beginning in 1994. Later, the squadron also assumed operational responsibility for the 

Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) 

satellite program that began launching in 2010 

and would serve ultimately as a follow-on system 

to Milstar. By 2015, 4  SOPS crews operated five 

Milstar and three AEHF satellites and their communications payloads. They were responsible for 

“cradle to grave” operations and management of 

these critical communications programs supporting 
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Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

U.S. and allied forces in the field and in garrison, 

and U.S. national command authorities.

Implementing lessons from Desert Shield/Desert

Storm, the units of the 50th Space Wing were assigned mobilization missions, requiring those 

squadrons to deploy, when called, teams or individuals to augment forward forces. This new task required 

the wing to complete a variety of tasks, including 

specialized training for deployed forces, building 

and maintaining mobility bags in several different 

configurations for specific contingencies and environmental conditions, and developing processes and 

procedures for moving personnel “downrange.” Until 2003, the 50th relied on assistance from Peterson 

AFB to meet these new tasks. However, the June 1, 

2003, activation of the 50th Supply Squadron as the 

50th Logistics Readiness Flight provided the wing 

and the installation with an inherent logistic function to manage these requirements.

Air Force Space Command activated the Space 

Warfare Center (later redesignated Space Innovation and Development Center (SIDC)) on 

November 1, 1993, and charged that organization with incorporating space capability in major 

command, theater, and campaign war plans ... 

simulation, modeling and war gaming activities 

and to lead development efforts to improve combat applications of space systems. Even before 

the center’s formal activation, General Anthony 

McPeak, Air Force Chief of Staff, directed that 

the Space Warfare Center would oversee the Air 

Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP). 

For nearly two decades, SIDC conducted 

operations at Schriever AFB, expanding its responsibilities and organizational construct to meet new 

requirements and missions. The SIDC added the 

Space Battlelab (1997-2007), the 17th and 14th 

Test Squadrons (under the 595th Space Group), 

the Space Operations School (2000-2004) and the 

Advanced Space Operations School (2009-2013). 

The Center’s 595th Space Group also included the 

26th and 527th Space Aggressor Squadrons, which 

provided adversarial forces for battle simulations. 

The 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron (3 SES) 

joined the SIDC in 2006 and in 2013 transferred 

to the 50th Operations Group as part of the reorganization that included the inactivation of the 

Space Innovation and Development Center and 

reassignment of its remaining component units to 

Air Force Space Command or to the United States 

Air Force Warfare Center.

In January 2012, SIDC leadership began the task 

of reducing the size of the organization. Resource 

Management Decision (RMD) 703 mandated a reduction of the Air Force civilian workforce to 2010 

levels. Over the next fifteen months, the SIDC 

transferred most of its missions and organizations 

to the USAF Warfare Center (USAFWC). The 

SIDC inactivated on April 1, 2013. General William Shelton and Colonel Kevin Rhoades oversaw 

furling of the unit flag.

On October 1, 1994, Air Force Space Command 

activated the 11th Space Warning Squadron at 

Falcon AFB based on lessons learned from Operation Desert Storm. Existing missile early warning 

systems were accurate, but were not intended for 

theater use. Commanders identified the need for 

timely and accurate details on short-range ballistic missiles, such as the Scud variant used by Iraqi 

forces. In response, the Air Force initiated Talon 

Shield, under the TENCAP organization to find 

better methods of processing and disseminating 

missile warning data to forces. The result of this 

effort was the Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater (ALERT) system. The squadron 

operated as a component of the 21st Space Wing, 

headquartered at Peterson AFB, until it inactivated 

on December 31, 2002. On December 3, 2007, the 

unit again activated at Schriever AFB, this time as 

a component of the 460th Space Wing, which was 

headquartered at Buckley AFB, Colorado.

In 1995, and again in 2005, the Base Realignment 

and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommended 

and the U.S. Congress, via legislation signed by 

the president, implemented actions that changed 

the landscape of Schriever AFB. Onizuka AFB’s 

encroachment by commercial and private development led in 1995 to recommendations to shift 

some operational activities from there to Falcon 

AFB. Over the next several years, Onizuka-based 

units inactivated and Falcon units assumed greater responsibility for AFSCN operations. The 22nd 

Space Operations Squadron assumed responsibility 
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New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

for oversight of the network’s remote tracking stations in 1997, following inactivation of the 750th 

Space Group at Onizuka AFB. That transition 

made the 50th Operations Group responsible for 

nearly all aspects of the satellite TT&C functions 

conducted by the 50th Space Wing. By 2010, 

Onizuka AFB’s remaining operations transferred 

to other locations, as a result of the 2005 BRAC 

process. The base’s remaining unit, the 21st Space 

Operations Squadron, relocated its operations to 

the newly completed Ellison Onizuka Satellite 

Control Facility at Vandenberg AFB, California.

Meanwhile, the 50th Space Wing’s communications organizations underwent a series of 

organizational realignments in the late 1990s and 

early 2000s as the wing sought to refine operational effectiveness and efficiency while ensuring 

that communications, a critical aspect of wing 

operations, remained under the management of 

a colonel. By March 2004, Falcon’s original communications unit, the 1879th Communications 

Squadron, had been activated and redesignated 

50th Network Operations Group. Assigned to 

the group were the 50th Space Communications 

Squadron and the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Space Operations Squadrons, which transferred from their 

previous assignment with the 50th Operations 

Group. The “NOG”, as it came to be known, assumed responsibility for all AFSCN operations 

and maintenance and, later, also assumed responsibility for supporting GPS ground antennas. On 

October 1, 2003, Air Force Space Command 

activated the 50th Comptroller Flight, redesignating it 50th Comptroller Squadron on July 1, 2004.

Also in 1995, the United States Naval Observatory (USNO), working with the 50th Space Wing 

and other Air Force officials, began efforts to relocate the Alternate Master Clock (AMC) from 

Richmond, Florida, to Falcon AFB, where its collocation with the GPS Master Control Station, the 

primary means of global time transfer, provided 

several benefits, including more robust backup capability and a more secure operating environment. 

At Falcon, the clock achieved initial operational 

capability in November 1995 and became fully 

operational on July 23, 1996. From that point, engineers sought to incorporate the precise time the 

clock provided to the AFSCN, GPS, and some 

TALON programs under the purview of the Space 

Warfare Center (later Space Innovation and Development Center). The ability to provide precise 

timing to combatant forces enhanced the capabilities of those forces in navigation, weapons delivery, 

communications, and intelligence.

Planning for a new AMC at Schriever AFB, however, began within a few years. The nearly ten year 

development and planning process culminated with 

the arrival of a new clock from the USNO on December 4, 2012. Moving the AMC to its new home 

in the GPS Master Control Station from the loading dock required that it be floated across a series of 

mats to minimize potential damage to the clock’s 

components. Colonel James P. Ross, remarked that 

the new clock represented “a quantum leap in the 

accuracy of the . . . Alternate Master Clock, which 

continually provides the world with precise timing 

via the Global Positioning System.”

Preceding the USNO at Schriever was the Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC), 

Detachment Delta. Detachment Delta, originally activated to serve as a liaison between the 

3rd Space Operations Squadron and NAVSOC, 

provided the NAVSOC with backup capability 

supporting the primary operations center at Point 

Mugu, California, which operated a variety of naval communications satellite systems, including the 

Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On (UFO), Fleet 

Satellite Communications System (FLTSAT), and 

the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS).

Detachment 46, Air Force Technical Applications 

Center joined the Falcon AFB team on September 

24, 1996. Among its primary activities, the detachment was charged with monitoring the Nuclear 

Detection System (NDS) sensor carried aboard 

GPS satellites, examining its state-of-health information, detecting anomalies, and recommending 

corrective actions, when observed, to the 2nd Space 

Operations Squadron.

On September 4, 1997, the 310th Space Group 

(later 310th Space Wing) joined Schriever AFB’s 

growing list of organizations and became the first 

space group in the Air Force Reserve Command. 

However, Air Force Reserve Command support 
60

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

to space operations at Schriever began four years 

earlier with the activation of the 7th Space Operations Group as a component of the 302nd Airlift 

Wing at Peterson AFB. The 310th Space Group’s 

first permanent facility on Schriever was completed in 2004. The 310th originally included the 

7th and 19th Space Operations Squadrons, whose 

crews worked closely with crews of the 50th Space 

Wing operating assigned satellite systems. For the 

19th SOPS, the assigned system was the Global Positioning System. The 7th Space Operations 

Squadron, meanwhile, served as the reserve associate of the 50th Space Wing’s 1st Space Operations 

Squadron, operating at first the Defense Support 

Program and, then, pathfinder systems before programmatic changes resulted in the transition of 

the 1st and 7th SOPS to operate the Space-Based 

Space Surveillance (SBSS) system that provided satellite-based space situational awareness. The 

310th has grown since that time and was redesignated the 310th Space Wing in March 2008. The 

310th Space Wing’s 6th Space Operations Squadron, formerly a component of the 50th Space 

Wing, provides Air Force Reserve support to the 

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, while 

the 8th Space Warning Squadron operated, with 

the 2nd Space Warning Squadron, the Space Based 

Infrared System (SBIRS) for missile warning and 

defense from Buckley AFB near Denver, Colorado, 

while Detachment 1, 8th Space Warning Squadron partnered with Schriever AFB’s 11th Space 

Warning Squadron, to operate the SBIRS Highly 

Elliptical Orbit (HEO) constellation.

The wing’s mission was to deliver optimized, scalable combat-ready forces capable of delivering space 

and cyberspace power for faster, more lethal, more 

accurate effects, every day, everywhere. In fulfilling 

that mission, the 310th also included squadrons 

that were associated with the active components 

of the former 595th Space Group, including the 

previously mentioned 14th Test Squadron, an associate of the active-duty 17th Test Squadron. The 

379th Space Range Squadron similarly served as 

a reserve associate to the active-duty 25th Space 

Range Squadron. 

Indicative of the growth of the 310th Space Wing 

in form and function, construction of a new headquarters facility began. Later named in honor of 

Colonel William M. Bower, contractors completed 

the facility in 2011.

The Joint Forces Component Command (JFCC) 

for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC-IMD) began operations at Schriever AFB in January 2005. 

A unit of the United States Strategic Command 

(USSTRATCOM), the JFCC-IMD was represented in the Missile Defense Integration and 

Operations Center and its headquarters was located 

there. The Joint Functional Component Command 

for Integrated Missile Defense supported U.S. Strategic Command’s Unified Command Plan missions 

for synchronizing operational-level planning and 

global missile defense operations. The unit was accountable for supporting the development of global 

effects for the Department of Defense and, when 

directed, provided alternate missile defense execution support. It also integrated and coordinated 

U.S. missile defense systems and operations, synchronized theater missile defense plans into the 

overall global missile defense campaign, and conducted day-to-day operations and coordinated 

activities with associated combatant commands, 

other USSTRATCOM JFCCs, and the efforts of 

the Missile Defense Agency.

Meanwhile, Colonel (later General) John E. Hyten, 

50th Space Wing commander, developed a concept 

for a Wing Integrated Operations Center. This center, staffed by representatives of each of the wing’s 

primary mission and key support organizations 

would serve as an information collection, analysis, 

and dissemination center allowing improved communications flow across the wing. Equipped with 

this information, units at Schriever and around the 

globe could initiate coordinated responses to events, 

from adversarial attempts to interfere with wing 

operations, to terrorism threats, to natural disasters 

and weather events potentially affecting wing mission activity. His successors at the helm of the wing 

carried his vision forward, although the reality of 

funding and facility constraints eventually resulted 

in a significant de-scoping of the project. By 2010, 

the concept had been reduced to an integrated operations floor, termed the Integrated Operations 

Environment (IOE), for MILSATCOM operations.

When opened for MILSATCOM operations, following the occupancy of the facility by the wing’s 
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New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

3rd and 4th Space Operations Squadrons, the IOE 

quickly validated Colonel Hyten’s vision. Collocated in the IOE, the two squadrons shared critical 

information and took advantage of each other’s 

expertise to improve operational effectiveness. 

The transition to operations within the IOE was 

smoothed by several months of collocated operations in one satellite operations center while the 

build-out of the IOE occurred. During this period, 

the two squadrons were able to identify issues and 

challenges and to develop processes, procedures, 

and understandings to resolve those challenges. 

The IOE quickly became a featured operations 

center during visits by civic, Air Force, and congressional leaders. 

While wing leaders worked to refine and implement Colonel Hyten’s vision, other changes in 

mission tasks meant new opportunities for wing 

units. By the early 2000s, the 1st Space Operations Squadron was operating several experimental 

systems, including the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) and Advanced Composition Explorer 

(ACE). Previous to this, officials had proposed 

instituting a multi-mission satellite operations center (MMSOC) that would allow satellite TT&C 

from a common ground system architecture. The 

50th Space Wing’s MMSOC opened on October 

29, 2006. Operationalizing the center, however, 

required that 1 SOPS, which would operate the 

various systems assigned to the MMSOC, divest 

its DSP operations and support to GPS launch 

and early orbit activities. Squadron personnel 

transferred DSP operational responsibility to the 

2nd Space Warning Squadron at Buckley AFB, 

Colorado, on August 29, 2006, while the 2nd 

Space Operations Squadron, equipped with the 

new Launch, Anomaly, and Disposal Operations 

(LADO) software suite, assumed “cradle-to-grave” 

operational responsibility for GPS. In later years, 

1 SOPS gained operational responsibility for the 

Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) mission 

(2010) and would also gain the Geosynchronous 

Space Situational Awareness Program satellites 

when they became operational. In 2013, the squadron turned over the MMSOC and those pathfinder 

systems flown in the center to the 3rd Space Experimentation Squadron in a realignment of functions. 

This realignment solidified 1 SOPS’ functions as 

the wing’s space situational awareness activity and 

placed all pathfinder missions under the 3rd Space 

Experimentation Squadron.

For much of the installation’s history, medical services were provided by a small cadre of personnel 

assigned to Peterson AFB. At first, a few medical 

and dental technicians commuted to Falcon to 

provide “sick call” services, referring things more 

serious than colds or flu and routine dental exams 

to appointments with the primary care facility at 

Peterson AFB. As the Falcon workforce continued to grow, the small clinic took on a greater role 

in providing for the daily needs of the base’s personnel, focusing on the active-duty force. Even as 

Falcon AFB neared its fifteenth anniversary, however, the clinic did not have a permanent, dedicated 

medical facility. Construction on a new, dedicated medical clinic began on July 1, 2003, and the 

facility opened on July 22, 2004. On October 1, 

2003, the command activated a detachment of the 

21st Medical Group at Schriever to provide full service dental and medical clinic services. Then, on 

June 22, 2012, Air Force Space Command activated the 21st Medical Squadron, a component of 

the Peterson AFB 21st Medical Group, to serve the 

Schriever community, signifying the growth of the 

detachment’s responsibilities. Since that time, the 

squadron has expanded its services to the community, incorporating a mental health clinic as well as 

other services and expanding its clientele to include 

family members of military personnel and local 

military retirees.

Today, Schriever AFB hosts twenty-one tenant organizations and activities, while the 50th Space Wing 

operates or supports approximately 175 satellites. 

The base’s proximity to key space organizations, including Air Force Space Command headquarters, 

the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and the Colorado Front Range’s growing space industry, were 

important factors in the base’s growth over the past 

thirty years and they remain important today.

Reflecting this, the Department of Defense announced to the U.S. Congress on September 10, 

2015, that Schriever AFB would be home to the 

experimental Joint Interagency Combined Space 

Operations Center (JICSpOC). With $16 million in fiscal year 2015 funding from the DoD 
62

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

and additional funding from the Director of 

National Intelligence, DoD leaders expected experimentation and testing to begin in October 

2015 with integration of the results of those evaluations and the development of standard operating 

procedures by January 2017. The new agency was 

expected to employ thirty or more personnel and 

support the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, California, as well as U.S. Strategic 

command’s Joint Functional Component Commander for Space. The JICSpOC’s initial role will 

be to improve data sharing between the intelligence community and military organizations, and 

to assist in countering adversarial threats to U.S. 

satellites and its other space-based systems.
63

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited the Joint National Test 

Facility on Falcon Air Force Base during her visit on August 3, 1990. While 

visiting the installation, Prime Minister Thatcher addressed an audience 

of over 400 employees of Falcon AFB, discussing the importance of 

the Strategic Defense Initiative as a deterrent to Soviet aggression. 

“I firmly believe that it was the determination to embark upon that 

SDI program and to continue with it that eventually convinced the 

Soviet Union that they could never, never, never achieve their aim by 

military might because they would never succeed.” ... British Prime 

Minister Margaret Thatcher, 3 August 1990, Falcon AFB, Colorado.

The Joint National Test Facility (later Ballistic Missile Defense 

Organization and then Missile Defense Agency) was created to 

support research and development, system-level tests and evaluation, 

and to provide operational and training support to U.S. combatant 

commands. Missile Defense Agency operations for missile defense 

capabilities have been executed at Schriever AFB since 1988.
64

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Colonel Roger G. DeKok, commander of the 2nd Space 

Wing, and an unidentified officer cut the ribbon to open 

the operations center for Detachment 46, Air Force 

Technical Applications Center (AFTAC). AFTAC is charged 

with providing national authorities quality technical 

measurements to monitor nuclear treaty compliance 

and developing advanced proliferation monitoring 

technologies to preserve our nation’s security. It is the sole 

organization in the federal government whose mission is 

to detect and report technical data from foreign nuclear 

explosions. AFTAC’s nuclear event detection mission is 

directly linked to its nuclear treaty monitoring mission. 

AFTAC monitors signatory countries’ compliance with the 

1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty. This treaty prohibits nuclear 

testing anywhere but underground and prohibits the 

venting of nuclear debris or radiation from those tests into 

the atmosphere outside the country’s national borders. 

AFTAC also monitors the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 

1974 and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Treaty of 1976. 

The 1974 treaty limits the size of underground nuclear 

tests to 150 kilotons, while the 1976 treaty prohibits the 

testing of nuclear devices outside of agreed treaty sites.
65

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

The 11th Space Warning Squadron, a component of the 460th 

Operations Group, 460th Space Wing, Buckley AFB Colorado 

was an important element of the Schriever AFB team. Activated 

at Falcon AFB in 1994, the unit inactivated in 2002 and was again 

activated in 2007. First charged with operating the ALERT system 

from its mission control center (pictured), the squadron later was 

assigned the task of operating the Space Based Infrared System 

(SBIRS) Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) from the Mission Control Station 

Backup ground station at Schriever. Unit personnel “provide U.S. 

and allied forces worldwide the next generation of missile warning, 

battlespace awareness, technical intelligence, and missile defense data 

through command and exploitation of Air Force Space Command’s 

only taskable, space-based infrared, highly elliptical payload.” 
66

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

On June 5, 1998, Headquarters, United States Air Force 

renamed Falcon Air Force Base in honor of General 

Bernard A. Schriever, the former commander of the Air 

Force’s Western Development Center (for ballistic missile 

research) and Air Force Research and Development 

Command (later Air Force Systems Command). In 1997, 

Air Force Space Command elected him as one of the 

inaugural Space and Missile Pioneers.

One of the tasks of the Space Warfare Center was to monitor Year 2000 (Y2K) events. The 

common practice of truncating four-digit years to two digits presented concerns as the 

world approached the year 2000 not understanding how digital systems would respond to 

the change from 1999 to 2000 that would make the new year indistinguishable from 1900. 

The issue was raised in 1985 by Jerome and Marilyn Murray in their book Computers in 

Crisis (Petrocelli, 1984). Governments established special committees to monitor remedial 

work and prepare contingency plans, especially for critical systems such as communications, 

utilities, and others. Military systems received special emphasis. At the Space Warfare 

Center, United States Air Force and Russian officers supported Y2K testing to ensure 

that no issues arose threatening the strategic posture of forces around the globe.
67

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

Some of the changes at Schriever AFB resulted from efforts to 

incorporate new technologies and to update resources as funding for 

military manpower and contracting declined. The Remote Tracking 

Station (RTS) Block Change (RBC) program was one program affecting 

the 50th Space Wing’s Air Force Satellite Control Network ground 

antennas that met these objectives. At Schriever AFB, construction 

of the new RBC antenna at the Colorado Tracking Station began 

on September 8, 2004 (top photo). Construction of the facility and 

installation of the radome were complete by July 2005. Additional 

budget constraints, however, resulted in the discontinuance of routine 

operations at the Colorado Tracking Station in July 2012. The site was 

subsequently decommissioned on September 29, 2014, following a 

brief period as a test site consisting of transportable assets. By summer 

2015, the Colorado Tracking Station’s facilities had been razed.
68

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

By 2005, there were 69 buildings on Schriever Air Force Base, which occupied more than 4,100 acres. The base’s 

population reached 6,227 by early 2006. The base was renamed in honor of Gen. Bernard Schriever in 1998 and was the 

first base to be named for a living individual. In this May 2004 photo, the growth of the installation is readily apparent.
69

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

Personnel of the 1st Space Operations 

Squadron conduct their final support of 

the Defense Support Program satellite 

constellation by sending a power off 

command to Flight 15 on August 29, 

2006, while Colonel Clinton E. Crozier, 

commander of the 50th Operations 

Group (second from right), and Lieutenant 

Colonel Stephen Mitchell (center) 

observe. The satellite previously had 

been placed in super-synchronous orbit 

during end-of-life operations. Although 

the squadron maintained the ability to 

conduct back-up operations, the 460th 

Space Wing at Buckley AFB, Colorado, 

assumed satellite command authority 

for the DSP constellation. The poweroff command signaled the end of the 

squadron’s 18-year association with the 

Defense Support Program. The squadron 

had conducted launch and early orbit 

operations, on-orbit command and 

control of the satellite bus, anomaly 

resolution, and end-of-life operations for 

the constellation since February 19, 1988.
70

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Operational exercises played an important role in the ability of the base’s 

personnel to fulfill their missions during emergency conditions. Exercise 

scenarios involved many different organizations and occasionally included 

components of the civil community’s first responders. In the left photo, 

Schriever’s emergency responders and an emergency medical technician 

transport a vehicle accident victim to a waiting flight for life helicopter 

during a casualty exercise. Above, Airman Robert Harris and an unidentified 

staff sergeant of the 50th Security Forces Squadron, search the Schriever 

Airman and Family Readiness Center for an active shooter during an exercise 

scenario. The exercise was conducted to ensure Schriever law enforcement 

and emergency services members are well trained and prepared.
71

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

From a “closet” to an operations floor. Until 1994, Detachment DELTA, 

Naval Satellite Operations Command (NAVSOC) functioned as the liaison 

between NAVSOC and the 3rd Space Operations Squadron (3 SOPS), the 

unit that provided telemetry, tracking and commanding (TT&C) for Navy 

communication satellites. At that time Detachment DELTA consisted of an 

officer-in-charge and an engineer. Additional engineers were later added 

for Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) support. Mission requirements were changed in 2003 when the detachment was designated as 

the back-up command center for NAVSOC Headquarters after satellite 

control authority (SCA) for the Fleet Satellite Communications System 

(FLTSAT) was transferred to the Navy. The unit began to ramp up and, 

with the equipment installed and additional personnel assigned, became 

fully functional as NAVSOC’s back-up satellite operations center.

Detachment DELTA first operated in what was known as the “closet”, a room 

in Mod 18, owned by 3 SOPS. In 2004, the 50th Space Wing granted the 

use of Mod 19B to Detachment DELTA. In October of 2008 the process of 

combining Mods 19B and C to create a full operations floor was started. This 

quadrupled the size of the operations floor and facilitated updating aging 

equipment. The expansion also allowed space for Mobile User Objective 

System (MUOS) operations as well as launch and early orbit operations.
72

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The Space Warfare Center (later renamed Space Innovation and Development 

Center) joined Team 5-0 on November 1, 1993 and remained a key partner 

with the 50th Space Wing until it inactivated on April 1, 2013. The center 

completed construction of its new facility in July 2009. One of the functions 

of the organization was to host the Schriever war games. The war game 

series began in 2001 to explore future space issues and integrate space 

capabilities throughout the United States national security infrastructure. 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other allied partners have 

participated in the events over the 15 years. Responsibility for hosting the 

games transitioned to the USAF Warfare Center upon the inactivation of 

the SIDC. Pictured in the bottom image is the Senior Leadership Seminar 

for the 2010 Schriever Wargames, held at Nellis AFB, NV, in May 2010. 

Following the inactivation of the SIDC, many of its units transferred 

to the USAF Warfare Center or were inactivated, while the 3rd Space 

Experimentation Squadron joined the 50th Operations Group.
73

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

Satellite crew personnel used the standard space trainer (SST) to conduct 

training in satellite command and control operations. The Schriever AFB 

SST facility opened in February 2011. Before the SST was available, wing 

crew personnel conducted satellite training on a variety of different 

systems. These legacy training systems varied not only in their look 

and feel, but in their structure. Varying hardware, operating systems, 

and proprietary software provided no clear training standard. The 

legacy systems left little room for versatility. Additionally, differences 

occurred in the systems used by Air Education and Training Command 

and Air Force Space Command for the same satellite system. 

United States Naval Observatory physicist Dr. Steve Peil leads Schriever’s 

new rubidium fountain clock to the master clock vault. In order to minimize 

damage to the equipment the clock was floated, much like a hovercraft, 

across a series of mats until it reached its final destination. The United States 

Naval Observatory first placed an alternate master clock at Schriever AFB in 

November 1995 to be co-located with the Global Positioning System.
74

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

The 50th Space Wing gained responsibility for the Wideband Global 

Satellite Communications (WGS) System and Advanced Extremely 

High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system as follow-on systems for 

the Defense Satellite Communications System and Milstar system, 

respectively. Each of the new satellites provided nearly ten times 

the capability of the legacy systems they would ultimately replace.

Prior to these systems becoming operational, the wing began planning 

for an integrated operating area that would streamline communications 

between the squadrons, between the units and wing leadership, and 

provide a clearer focus on operational concerns and events. Funding 

constraints winnowed the wing’s vision to a combined operating 

environment for military satellite communications systems to be 

jointly occupied by the 3rd and 4th Space Operations Squadrons. 

The wing’s Integrated Operations Environment (IOE) opened in 

January 2013. Today, the IOE is the home of the newly formed Joint 

Interagency Combined Space Operations Center (JICSpOC). 
75

New Missions, New Units: Falcon AFB Grows

Major Shanna Corbet, 19th Space Operations Squadron reviews 

transfer procedures with Airman First Class Alan Faeldan, 2nd Space 

Operations Squadron during the Civil Navigation implementation 

April 28, 2014, in the 2 SOPS operations environments. The initiative, 

announced by the DoD will allow Air Force Space Command 

to broadcast Civil Navigation messages on all operational GPS 

satellites capable of transmitting the L2C and L5 signals. 

The 310th Space Wing’s 19th Space Operations Squadron (Air 

Force Reserve Command) operates the GPS system jointly with 

the 50th Space Wing’s 2d Space Operations Squadron. Similarly, 

the 310th Space Wing’s 6th and 7th Space Operations Squadrons 

support other 50th Space Wing satellite operations functions.

U.S. Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney (right), U.S. Strategic 

Command commander, and senior Department of Defense 

(DoD) leaders, including Gen. David L. Goldfein (center), 

U.S. Air Force vice chief of staff, and Ms. Stephanie 

O’Sullivan (fourth from right), Principal Deputy Director 

of National Intelligence, receive a briefing from General 

John E. Hyten, Air Force Space Command commander, 

while attending the Joint Interagency Combined Space 

Operations Center’s (JICSpOC) distinguished visitor 

day at Schriever AFB. The JICSpOC, a collaborative 

effort between USSTRATCOM, AFSPC, the NRO, and 

the intelligence community and commercial data 

providers, began operational testing in October 2015.
Col. DeAnna Burt, 50th Space Wing commander, briefs the 50 SW mission during the State of the Base Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at Schriever Air 

Force Base, Colorado. State of the Base provides an opportunity for Schriever leaders to strengthen relationships with Colorado Springs and El Paso 

County civic and community leaders.
77

Having grown from an operations-focused station of 640 acres and a couple 

of hundred personnel, as of May of 2014, 

Schriever AFB encompassed 3,840 acres holding 

63 buildings (not including housing units) and 

reported a population of 7,647 personnel. Managing the infrastructure to support the installation, 

its employees, and families was principally the responsibility of the men and women of the 50th 

Mission Support Group, a component of the host 

50th Space Wing. 

Mid-way through the first decade of the 21st century, Schriever AFB hosted nearly 60 major and 

minor facilities and employed over 6,200 people. 

The base’s continuing growth and importance 

prompted wing and command officials to begin 

preliminary planning to bring several hundred 

housing units and associated community support 

activities to the base. That effort came to fruition 

when, on May 16, 2008, base officials, community leaders, and contractor representatives broke 

ground on 242 enlisted and officer housing units 

at Schriever AFB. Construction was completed by late summer 2010. Today, 223 families call 

Schriever AFB home. 

It wasn’t the construction of base housing, however, that built the Schriever community. Instead, the 

men and women--civilian, contractor, and military 

personnel--that operated Schriever’s space-based 

systems, managed the infrastructure, and supported combatant forces worldwide adopted the 

installation as their home town and provided their 

services, expertise, and time to the local communities around the base, including Falcon and Ellicott, 

Colorado. And, the communities reciprocated.

Early in the base’s history, the installation’s first responders—security forces and firefighters—inked 

mutual aid agreements with civil agencies. In thirty years, the base’s security forces and firefighters 

have responded to a number of traffic accidents, 

wild land, and grassland fires off the installation, 

providing emergency first aid and other capabilities. These examples, perhaps, were best illustrated 

in the base’s response to two wild land fires in the 

Colorado Springs region. 

The Waldo Canyon fire in western El Paso County, 

Colorado, began on June 23, 2012, at approximately 12 p.m. in moderately to extremely difficult 

terrain. The blaze, which lasted approximately 17 

days, consumed over 18,000 acres, 346 homes, 

and claimed two lives making it arguably the most 

destructive fire in Colorado history. During the 

incident, local military installations responded to 

provide temporary shelter for evacuees, assist with 

fire-fighting operations, and provide donations of 

needed blankets, clothing, and food for those affected by the fire. 

On June 26, 2012, Colonel James P. Ross, responding to civil requests for resources to fight the fire 

in Waldo Canyon, west of Colorado Springs, authorized one engine, four firefighters, and one fire 

safety officer to deploy to the United States Air 

Force Academy (USAFA) to assist with efforts to 

fight the fire as it reached USAFA property. Onscene crews were able to contain the flare-up to 

approximately 10 acres. Additionally, a SAFB 

firefighter joined the El Paso County Emergency 

Operations Call Center, per the base’s mutual aid 

agreement with the county, as did a member of the 

wing’s Public Affairs staff.

Wing personnel also assisted with the post-fire activity and volunteered to support the community 

in other ways. Thea Wasche, deputy commander of 

the 50th Force Support Squadron and her therapy 

golden retriever, Lacey, visited evacuation shelters 

to bring comfort to those displaced. After the fire, 

members of the 1st Space Operations Squadron, 

Technical Sergeants Jason Childers and Gaston 

Lara, and Captains Dan Coleman and Stan Maczek 

assisted with clean-up operations. Other Schriever 

AFB personnel and organizations collected food 

and other necessities to assist displaced persons or 

contributed in countless other ways.

Eleven months later, a wild land fire erupted northwest of Schriever AFB in the Black Forest area of 

El Paso County. The conflagration, which began 

on June 11, 2013, quickly moved north and east 

into residential areas, pushed by gusty winds and 

dry timber. On June 12, 2013, civilian authorities 

asked the base for assistance and the 50th Civil 

Engineer Squadron dispatched an engine and crew 

that eventually helped make up a military response 

BUILDING A COMMUNITY
78

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

team comprised of assets from Fort Carson, Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, the Air Force Academy, 

and the Colorado National Guard. Schriever’s fire 

department continued to deploy crews around the 

clock until relieved on June 16, 2013, at which 

time the fire was approximately seventy-five percent contained. 

Once the fire was extinguished, Schriever personnel repeated their efforts following the previous 

year’s Waldo Canyon fire by assisting with clean-up 

operations, collecting and distributing food, clothing, and other essentials for displaced homeowners, 

and provided other support. This fire proved especially distressing to the Schriever community as the 

two fatalities resulting from the fire had worked at 

the base for many years. 

On May 28, 2001, a destructive tornado ripped 

through Ellicott, damaging homes and the high 

school under construction and scheduled to open 

in the fall. As in later emergencies, base personnel 

responded with collections of food and other essentials for those affected by the tornado. Schriever 

AFB personnel also participated in clean-up operations in the days and weeks following the tornado, 

saving residents some of the burdensome cost of removing large debris and materials.

It is a common practice for military organizations 

to “adopt” local roadways and periodically clean 

up litter and debris along those roadways. Units 

at Schriever AFB were not the exception. Many of 

the base’s organizations adopted portions of local 

streets and roads. Base personnel also contributed 

time and effort to many local charities, in addition 

to the annual Combined Federal Campaign, in 

which Schriever set a standard of meeting or exceeding is goal in most years. Schriever’s employees 

contributed to Habitat for Humanity in its efforts 

to build homes for local disadvantaged families. 

They supported local Boy Scout and Girl Scout 

troops and other youth organizations. Schriever’s 

personnel also supported local schools, providing 

mentoring and other support to students and the 

districts. Local Junior Reserve Officer Training 

Corps (JROTC) squadrons toured the base and 

learned of its satellite and related missions, visiting 

50th Space Wing satellite operations centers and 

other important facilities and units. Schriever AFB 

personnel volunteered to mentor to local students, 

working to improve reading skills and improve 

scholastic performance.

Schriever-based units joined other local military installations providing formations and floats 

for holiday parades. They participated in the annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo and other events. 

Schriever commanders met regularly with local 

civic leaders, including the city’s Military Affairs 

Committee and through the quarterly Chief of 

Staff luncheon. Maintaining these relationships 

with local officials were important aspects of the 

commanders’ priorities. The wing’s Honorary 

Commanders Program was designed to increase 

public awareness of Schriever AFB and its missions, 

people, and programs and to build relationships 

with the local community, encouraging them to 

share the base’s story. In 2012, the 50th Space 

Wing revitalized the program and inducted seven 

honorary commanders. These seven honorary commanders were granted alumni status two years later 

and eight new honorary commanders were introduced to wing, group, and some squadron leaders 

in 2014.

And the communities of the Front Range reciprocated. Sports teams, local attractions, and businesses 

supported the base and its population by sponsoring events or providing discounted tickets to their 

events. That support was evident in the level of 

commercial sponsorship provided to the installation 

to support, for example, the base’s annual summer 

picnic. Through local sponsorship, the base was able 

to fund a variety of events, meals, and competitive 

prizes. Local sports teams and attractions made discounted (and occasionally free) tickets available to 

employees at Schriever AFB, as well as the other 

military installations on the front range. 

Schriever’s community involvement was certainly 

not limited to interactions with the local civilian 

populations; although that interaction was important and base officials worked to maintain close 

relationships with local officials. Equally important, the base’s supporting organizations, especially 

the agencies of the 50th Force Support Squadron 

and the base Chapel, developed and instituted programs to maintain the health and wellness of the 
79

Building a Community

base population. From operating fitness facilities 

and programs to special activities for single Airmen, families, or married couples, these initiatives 

and programs aided in maintaining a sense of com-

munity and well-being in a fluid population. 

The construction of housing on Schriever AFB 

furthered the development of the Schriever com-

munity and the installation’s support to local 

schools as dependents living on the installation attended classes in the Ellicott School District. The 

242 housing units new on Schriever AFB in 2010 

brought about 740 family members to live on the 

installation. Tierra Vista Communities, the de-

velopment and management company operating 

Schriever’s housing complex, initiated programs 

designed for residents and supported other units’ 

efforts to foster a sense of community across the 

base. The natural result was an increased focus 

and partnering with the rural district. School and 

installation officials worked together to promote 

studies in science, technology, engineering and 

mathematics (STEM), and Ellicott school children 

were often invited to participate in events held at 

the base, including the annual holiday tree lighting, 

“trick-or-treat” night, and others. Base agencies vis-

ited Ellicott schools, providing information on fire 

safety, drug-free living, and similar programs. 
80

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Building a strong community at Schriever 

AFB meant providing essential services 

and infrastructure to the base. In the early 

2000s, the base underwent a dramatic 

change as facilities to provide essential 

services were constructed. Between 

2001 and 2005, contractors completed 

construction projects totaling more than 

$58 million. New facilities included a 

community support center (2002), fitness 

center (2001), medical and dental clinic 

(2004), an addition to the 50th Space 

Wing headquarters building (2004), and 

some operational facilities including a 

backup operations center for the Space 

Based Infrared System (2003). The base’s 

Secure Area Logistics Facility and a 

new west gate also opened in 2004.
81

Building a Community

As the base workforce grew, leaders knew that additional 

community support infrastructure was necessary. Construction 

for the base’s Child Development Center, a key component 

of the base’s long-range planning, began with a groundbreaking ceremony on February 14, 2001. Eighteen months 

later, on September 6, 2002, the facility opened. By May 

2016, the Child Development Center provided care for 

approximately 210 children of Schriever AFB employees.
82

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Twenty-five years after the ground-breaking for the installation, Colonel Theresa A. Djuric, commander of the 50th Space Wing, joined 

by representatives of Tierra Vista Communities and other members 

of the Schriever AFB broke ground on the base’s 242-unit housing 

development on May 16, 2008. By August 2009, the first units were 

available for occupancy and Second Lieutenant Caleb Murphy and his 

wife, Christina, became the first occupants. By August 2010, Tierra 

Vista Communities, a subsidiary of Actus Lend Lease, had completed 

construction of all units and the community center by March 22, 2010.

The effort to bring enlisted and officer housing to Schriever AFB had 

been long. Base and command officials lobbied Air Force leadership and 

ultimately the United States Congress to fund housing for the installation 

as a component of a three-installation program that included new housing 

construction at nearby Peterson AFB and at Los Angeles AFB in California.
83

Building a Community

Schriever AFB personnel engage in science experiments 

with Ellicott School District children October 8, 2015. The 

installation maintained a close relationship with the school 

and participated in a number of educational and public 

service awareness campaigns with the students. The science 

experiments were part of a public program to expose elementary students to science, technology, engineering, and 

math (STEM) studies. The base also supported fire prevention 

and awareness week and Red Ribbon week activities designed 

to make students aware of the dangers of drug use.
84

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

One of the elements of the base’s efforts to 

build a strong community was maintaining 

and improving the natural environment 

around the base. For the seventeenth 

consecutive year, in 2015 Schriever AFB was 

named a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day 

Foundation. Andy Schlosberg, Colorado 

State Forest Service Assistant District 

Forester, Marc Williams, Col. DeAnna Burt, 

50th Space Wing commander, Col. Brian 

Barthel, 50th Mission Support Group 

commander, Lauren Ouding, and Lt. Col. 

Nathan Clemmer, 50th Civil Engineer 

Squadron commander, help plant a 

tree during the Arbor Day celebration 

at the Child Development Center. The 

tree planting during Arbor Day was an 

annual event at Schriever Air Force Base.
85

Building a Community

Ellicott Schools played an important role 

in the Schriever AFB community. Schoolage children residing in the base’s housing 

community attended Ellicott schools. 

Each year, the Ellicott Elementary School 

Choir visited the base for the holiday 

tree lighting ceremony and entertained 

base personnel with a variety of holiday 

songs. Following the performance and 

the lighting of the tree, the children and 

others enjoyed a visit with Santa Claus, 

hot chocolate, and cookies in the 50th 

Space Wing headquarters building.
86

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Schriever Air Force Base’s community involvement exceeded the front 

range and the state of Colorado. Schriever’s personnel served as unofficial 

ambassadors of the installation and the Air Force around the world. Capt. 

Colin Merrin, 2nd Space Operations Squadron, Capt. Heidi Kent, 7th Space 

Operations Squadron, and Capt. Megan Harkins, 1st Space Operations 

Squadron, pause to represent the 50th Space Wing at Mount Everest 

Base Camp. Capt. Merrin, a member of the USAF 7 summits team, had to 

abandon his ascent at 27,000 feet on May 21, 2013, due to health concerns. 
87

Building a Community

From left: Tech. Sgts. Jason Childers and Gaston Lara and Capts. 

Dan Coleman and Stan Maczek pose for a photo with a contractor 

foreman (middle) July 26, 2012, while volunteering their time to 

help clean up the Waldo Canyon burn site. The Airmen are all 

members of the 1st Space Operations Squadron. (Courtesy photo)

Schriever firefighter Scott Bartlett extinguishes a hot spot while 

helping fight the Black Forest wildfire June 14. The Black Forest 

fire, one of the most destructive (in terms of dollar value of 

damaged properties) in Colorado history began in hot, windy, 

dry conditions only one year after the Waldo Canyon fire.
88

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

Schriever AFB’s location about nine miles east of Peterson AFB 

meant that typical recreation venues for assigned personnel, such 

as bowling alleys, clubs, or other amenities were not available. To 

compensate for the lack of these types of programs, the 50th Force 

Support Squadron’s Services Flight offered special programs for 

single Airmen under the Single Airman Programming Initiative (SAPI). 

Schriever began its participation in the initiative in fiscal year 2012, 

and since then involved 739 persons in 71 events from skydiving to 

fly fishing, snowmobiling, and pheasant hunting. The purpose of the 

SAPI was to create a culture supporting the “whole-person” concept. 
89

Building a Community

Personnel of the 4th Space Operations Squadron and the 50th 

Operations Group, Capt. Rodrigo Ocampo (orange hardhat), 

1st Lt. Mark Long (behind ladder), 2nd Lt. Aaron Blore (green 

hardhat), and Capt. Aaron Doyle (blue hardhat), erect a ladder 

to facilitate roof truss installation during a Pikes Peak Habitat For 

Humanity construction project in Colorado Springs. Schriever’s 

employees have, throughout the base’s history, contributed to 

many local charitable efforts. Lieutenant Long set up the base’s 

Habitat For Humanity volunteer crew monthly coordinating 

the efforts of about 40 volunteers. (Courtesy photo)
90

SCHRIEVER AFB COMMANDING OFFICERS

2nd Space Wing

Colonel Richard L. Griffin.................................................................................................................................................July 8, 1985–July 7, 1986

Brigadier General Lester Weber..............................................................................................................................July 8, 1986–December 11, 1988

Brigadier General Jimmey Morrell ................................................................................................................. December 12, 1988–August 26, 1990

Colonel Roger DeKok .........................................................................................................................................August 27, 1990–January 30, 1992

50th Space Wing

Brigadier General Roger G. DeKok.........................................................................................................................January 30, 1992–June 16, 1993

Colonel Gregory Giles...........................................................................................................................................June 17, 1993–November 3, 1994

Colonel Simon P. Worden ................................................................................................................................. November 4, 1994–March 21, 1996

Brigadier General Glen W. Moorhead III................................................................................................................March 22, 1996–April 24, 1997

Colonel Elwood C. Tircuit............................................................................................................................................ April 25, 1997–June 9, 1999

Colonel Richard E. Webber...........................................................................................................................................June 9, 1999–April 19, 2001

Colonel Larry D. James................................................................................................................................................ April 20, 2001–June 8, 2003

Colonel Michael D. Selva (Interim).............................................................................................................................. February 7, 2003–May 2003

Colonel Suzanne M. Vautrinot.......................................................................................................................................June 9, 2003–April 3, 2005

Colonel John E. Hyten................................................................................................................................................. April 4, 2005–May 21, 2007

Colonel James C. Hutto, Jr. (Interim) ................................................................................................................... May 15, 2006–October 13, 2006

Colonel Teresa A.H. Djuric ......................................................................................................................................... May 22, 2007–June 11, 2008

Colonel Cary C. Chun............................................................................................................................................June 12, 2008–August 19, 2009

Colonel Wayne R. Monteith..................................................................................................................................August 20, 2009–August 4, 2011

Colonel James P. Ross .................................................................................................................................................August 5, 2011–July 10, 2013

Colonel William J. Liquori, Jr........................................................................................................................................July 11, 2013–May 28, 2015

Colonel DeAnna M. Burt ..................................................................................................................................................................May 29, 2015–
91

11th Space Warning Squadron: The squadron is 

a geographically-separated unit of the 460th Space 

Wing at Buckley AFB, Colorado. The mission of 

11 SWS is to provide U.S. and allied forces with 

worldwide missile warning, battle-space awareness, technical intelligence and missile defense 

data through space-based infrared, highly elliptical operations.

21st Medical Squadron: The mission of the squadron is to provide seamless, patient-focused care to 

the Schriever beneficiary population. This includes 

diagnostic, preventative, and treatment related 

health care services. The squadron also provides 

patient education and continuity of care for health 

maintenance as well as for the acute and chronic 

management of disease and injury.

53rd Signal Battalion (Satellite Control): The 

mission of U.S. Army Strategic Command’s 53rd 

Signal Battalion is to operate, maintain and sustain 

three contingency Defense Satellite Communications System control platforms to provide positive 

platform, payload and communications network 

control of DSCS and Wideband Global SATCOM 

satellites to the unified and specified combatant 

command commander, the National Command 

Authority and other customers approved by the 

Joint Staff.

100th Missile Defense Brigade, Missile Defense 

Element: The 100th Missile Defense Brigade’s 

Missile Defense Element is located in the MDIOC. 

MDE functions include conducting the operational level execution of the Ground Based Midcourse 

Missile Defense Limited Defensive Operations mission for the U.S. Northern Command commander. 

In this respect, MDE provides operational and 

tactical recommendation to the NORTHCOM 

commander, synchronizes operations and conducts 

fire distribution across multiple GMD Fire Direction Centers, conducts battle planning for potential 

follow-on launches of threat ballistic missiles and, 

as required, de-conflicts the operational pictures for 

warning and missile defense missions. MDE also 

manages Army GMD force readiness conditions 

and develops and reports overall GMD operational 

capability. It provides day-to-day control of GMD 

FDCs, performs analyses and develops responses 

to NORTHCOM commander, command director 

and missile defense officer questions and provides 

back up mission execution capability for the firing 

unit FDCs.

310th Space Wing: The 310th Space Wing, the 

only space wing in the Air Force Reserve, has units 

assigned to Schriever, Peterson and Buckley Air 

Force Bases in Colorado, as well as Vandenberg 

Air Force Base in California. The wing provides 

optimized, scalable combat ready forces delivering 

space and cyberspace power for faster, more lethal, 

more accurate affects every day, everywhere.

527th Space Aggressor Squadron: The squadron 

prepares USAF, joint and allied forces for combat through realistic threat replication, training, 

and feedback through specialized and certified 

space-capable aggressors. It operates adversary 

space systems, develops new tactics, techniques 

and procedures to counter threats, and improves 

the US military space posture.

Air Force Technical Applications Center, Detachment 46: Air Force Technical Applications 

Center, Detachment 46 supports the Nuclear Detonation Detection System payload on board the 

Global Positioning System satellite constellation. 

NDS data is used in AFTAC’s worldwide Nuclear 

Test Ban Treaty monitoring system, the Integrated 

Tactical Warning and Attack.

Joint Functional Component Command for 

Integrated Missile Defense: The headquarters is 

located in the Missile Defense Integration-Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. 

The BMDS is operational to defend against all 

ranges of ballistic missile threats. The command’s 

location allows JFCC IMD to leverage the existing infrastructure and its strong partnerships to 

execute IMD planning and operational support 

responsibilities. This modern defense network is 

expanding to include radars and other sensors that 

feed information from the air, land, sea, and space 

environments to battle management centers that 

can direct interceptors to targets. The JFCC IMD 

began operations in February 2005.

Missile Defense Agency: The Missile Defense 

Agency’s (MDA) mission is to develop, test, and 

SELECTED SCHRIEVER AFB TENANT UNITS
92

Schriever Air Force Base: A History in Pictures 

field an integrated, layered, ballistic missile defense 

system (BMDS) to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends against all ranges 

of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight.

Missile Defense Integration & Operations Center: The Missile Defense Agency’s Integration 

and Operations Center supports research and development, system-level tests and evaluation, and 

provides operational and training support to U.S. 

combatant commands. Missile Defense Agency operations for missile defense capabilities have 

been executed at Schriever AFB since 1988.

Naval Satellite Operations Center Detachment 

Delta: The Naval Satellite Operations Center Detachment Delta is located in building 400. The 

unit’s primary mission is to provide hot backup 

operations for NAVSOC headquarters located in 

Point Mugu, Calif. Primary constellations supported include Fleet Satellite, Ultra High Frequency 

Follow On, and Mobile User Objective System 

(MOUS).

Space and Missile Systems Center, Detachment 11: The Space and Missile Systems Center, 

a subordinate unit of Air Force Space Command, 

is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining military 

space systems. SMC’s mission is to deliver resilient and affordable space capabilities. The center 

is responsible for on-orbit check-out, testing, sustainment and maintenance of military satellite 

constellations and other Department of Defense 

space systems.

United States Air Force Warfare Center: The 

USAFWC exists to ensure deployed forces are well 

trained and well equipped to conduct integrated combat operations. From Testing and tactics 

development programs to training schools and 

venues, the USAFWC provides Airmen. The USAFWC vision, mission and priorities are central to 

supporting the Air Combat Command’s mission 

to provide dominant combat airpower for America with warrior Airmen committed to excellence, 

trained to fly, fight, and win...anytime, anyplace. 

Several units of the USAFWC, including the Air 

Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (AFTENCAP), operate from Schriever AFB.

United States Naval Observatory, Alternate 

Master Clock: The United States Naval Observatory provides a wide range of astronomical data 

and products. USNO products support activities 

in astrometry, astronomical applications, Earth 

orientation, and precise time. The USNO serves as 

the official source of time for the U.S. Department 

of Defense and a standard of time for the entire 

United States. This segment of the USNO mission enhances many applications, including space 

operations, command, control, communications, 

computer networks, intelligence, surveillance, and 

reconnaissance (C4ISR), positioning, navigation, 

and timing (PNT). The Alternate Master Clock is 

the backup of the USNO’s Master Clock facility 

in Washington, D.C., and provides precise time to 

the 50th Space Wing and tenant organizations on 

Schriever AFB.