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Los Angeles Air Force Base | |
---|---|
El Segundo, California in the United States | |
Coordinates | 33°55′09″N118°22′50″W / 33.91917°N 118.38056°W |
Type | U.S. Space Force base |
Site information | |
Owner | Department of Defense |
Operator | United States Space Force |
Controlled by | Space Base Delta 3 |
Condition | Operational |
Website | www |
Site history | |
Built | 1962 | –1964 (as Los Angeles Air Force Station)
In use | 1964–present |
Garrison information | |
Current commander | Col Andrew C. Dermanoski [1] |
Garrison | Space Base Delta 3 |
Occupants | Space Systems Command |
Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) is a United States Space Force base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the Space Systems Command field command of the United States Space Force, which was established on August 13, 2021. [2] The center manages research, development and acquisition of military space systems.
Los Angeles Air Force Base traces its history back to the Air Research and Development Command's Western Development Division, which was activated on 1 July 1954 in Inglewood, not far from the current base.
In 1961 the Air Force developed a plan to consolidate its Space Systems Division and the Research and Development (R&D) Center of The Aerospace Corporation, which was created in 1960 to support Air Force space programs. The plan involved the acquisition of two pieces of real estate adjoining the R&D Center. An aircraft plant owned by the Navy, at the northwest corner of Aviation and El Segundo Boulevards, was transferred to the Air Force in October 1962. Another site, at the southwest corner of the same intersection, was owned by a mining company. The Aerospace Corporation purchased that property in November 1962, and between February 1963 and April 1964, it constructed its new headquarters there. By April 10, 1964, the Air Force property at the intersection of Aviation and El Segundo Boulevards was designated as the Los Angeles Air Force Station, which was re-designated as the Los Angeles Air Force Base in September 1987.
In 2006 Area A of LAAFB was permanently closed after a deal with a local builder to exchange the land in Area A for the creation of the General Bernard Schriever Space Complex in Area B and other new facilities. In February 2007, a new base exchange opened up in Area B.
The portion of Fort MacArthur remaining in military use is a sub-base of Los Angeles Air Force Base serving as a housing and administrative annex. Fort MacArthur is in the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately twenty miles southeast of Los Angeles Air Force Base.
Los Angeles Air Force Base is headquarters to the Space Systems Command (SSC), a field command of the United States Space Force (USSF). SSC is responsible for research, development, acquisition, on-orbit testing, reliability, maintenance, sustainment and operations of specific military space systems. In addition to managing Space Force space systems development, SSC participated in space programs conducted by other U.S. military services, government agencies and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. SSC turns some of these acquired systems over to the different operations commands including: the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) and Space Operations Command (SpOC) after going through the Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) where Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) conducts independent operational test and evaluation. [3]
The Space Base Delta 3 provides medical, civil engineering, communications, chaplain, security, logistics, personnel, readiness, and quality-of-life services to the Space and Missile Systems Center and other Department of Defense units in the Los Angeles basin. It consists of five squadrons and six staff agencies, totaling more than 790 personnel with $608 million in plant assets and an annual budget of $60 million. [3]
The Space Systems Command (SSC) is a USSF field command that works in the areas involving military space acquisition and specific space-based operations by the Department of Defense. [3] In summer 2021, the center was re-designated as Space Systems Command, one of the three major commands under the United States Space Force. It oversees the development, acquisition, launching, and sustaining of military space systems. [2]
The Global Positioning Systems Directorate, formerly the Global Positioning Systems Wing, is a joint-service, multinational, civil/military systems directorate with more than 700 DoD/contractor personnel responsible for the development, launch and sustainment of the Global Positioning System. The directorate is responsible for the development and procurement of over 250,000 receiver systems and the United States' nuclear detonation detection system. Annual funding is $1 billion and the total program value is $32 billion. [3]
Formerly the Space Superiority Systems Wing, the Space Superiority Systems Directorate is responsible for weapon systems development, fielding, and sustainment. [3]
The Launch Enterprise Directorate provides DoD and the National Reconnaissance Office with access to space through launch systems modernization, sustainment, and development of worldwide ranges for national security. The directorate conducts satellite mission integration and provides tools to test and support the nation's space launch, ballistic missile, and aeronautical testing. [3]
The Military Satellite Communications Directorate (MILSATCOM), formerly the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing, plans for, acquires, and sustains space-enabled global communications in support of the president, secretary of Defense and combat forces. MILSATCOM systems consists of satellites, terminals, and control stations, worth more than $42 billion providing communication for approximately 16,000 aircraft, ships, mobile, and fixed sites. As a jointly-manned directorate, it interfaces with major commands from each of the Armed Services, HQ Air Force and various DoD agencies. [3]
The Advanced Systems and Development Directorate is an organization for systems and development planning for future Space capabilities. Serves as primary provider of launch, spaceflight, hosted payloads and on-orbit operations for the entire DoD space research and development community. Responsible for acquiring, integrating, launching, and operating R&D spacecraft, prototype operational systems, boosters, and ballistic missiles supporting national security objectives/missile defense programs. Co-located at LAAFB and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.
Located at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, the Space Logistics Directorate has 550 people and a $500 million annual budget. It sustains and modifies worldwide USAF/DoD space weapon systems to include terrestrial and space weather, global positioning systems, launch range control, satellite command and control, secure communications, and missiles early warning. The directorate is the focal point for logistics, maintenance, supply, sustaining engineering and the Space Logistics Readiness Center. [3]
The mission of the Operationally Responsive Space Office (ORS) is to plan and prepare for the rapid development of space capabilities. [3]
The Range and Network Division is responsible for modernizing and sustaining the world-wide Space Force Satellite Control Network as well as the nation's Launch and Test Range Systems located at Vandenberg SFB, California, and Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida. [3]
Notable units based at Los Angeles Space Force Base: [4]
The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Command (AFSC).
Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 4, the Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Wing, the Denver Naval Operations Support Center, and the National Reconnaissance Office's Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado.
The Aerospace Corporation is an American nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in El Segundo, California. The corporation provides technical guidance and advice on all aspects of space missions to military, civil, and commercial customers. As the FFRDC for national-security space, Aerospace works closely with organizations such as the United States Space Force (USSF) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to provide "objective technical analyses and assessments for space programs that serve the national interest". Although the USSF and NRO are the primary customers, Aerospace also performs work for civil agencies such as NASA and NOAA as well as international organizations and governments in the national interest.
Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) is a United States Navy base in Ventura County, California. Formed by the merger of NAS Point Mugu and CBC Port Hueneme, NBVC is a diverse installation composed of three main locations — Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, and San Nicolas Island. The base serves as an all-in-one mobilization site, deep water port, railhead, and airfield. NBVC supports more than 100 tenant commands with a base population of more than 19,000 personnel, making it the largest employer in Ventura County.
Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's space development, acquisition, launch, and logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, and manages the United States' space launch ranges.
The Space Launch Delta 45 is a unit of the United States Space Force. The Space Launch Delta 45 is assigned to Space Systems Command and headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The wing also controls Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 45th Space Delta is responsible for all space launch operations from the East Coast. It manages the Eastern Range, including launch activities for the Space Force, Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, and other private space corporations.
The Military Satellite Communications Directorate is a United States Space Force organization headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. It is one of several wings and other units that make up the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC).
Space Base Delta 3 is a United States Space Force unit assigned to the Space Systems Command. The unit is stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California, United States.
The United States Space Force's Launch Enterprise Directorate (LE) is a unit located at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California.
Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command. Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, it consists of its mission deltas, and garrison commands.
Donna D. Shipton is a United States Air Force lieutenant general who serves as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The center is responsible for total life cycle management for aircraft, engines, munitions, electronic, computer, network, cyber and agile combat support systems. The center employs more than 28,000 people and has a budget of over $300 billion. Previously she served as military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
John Ferdinand "JT" Thompson is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who last served as the commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center from May 2017 to July 2021. He entered the United States Air Force in 1984 as a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy.
Donald Jason Cothern is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the program executive for ground-based weapon systems at the Missile Defense Agency. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Space Systems Command. He transferred to the Space Force from the United States Air Force in May 2021.
The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas.
Stephen G. Purdy Jr. is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration. He previously served as commander of Space Launch Delta 45, program executive officer for assured access to space, director of the Eastern Range, and director of launch and range operations of Space Systems Command.
Steven P. Whitney is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the director of staff of the United States Space Force. He previously served as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration from 2021 to 2023.
While the United States Space Force gained its independence on 20 December 2019, the history of the United States Space Force can be traced back to the beginnings of the military space program following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945. Early military space development was begun within the United States Army Air Forces by General Henry H. Arnold, who identified space as a crucial military arena decades before the first spaceflight. Gaining its independence from the Army on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force began development of military space and ballistic missile programs, while also competing with the United States Army and United States Navy for the space mission.
Dennis O. Bythewood is a United States Space Force major general who serves the deputy commander of the United States Space Forces – Space. He previously served as the commander of Joint Task Force–Space Defense and deputy commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command.
Timothy Alan Sejba is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the commander of Space Training and Readiness Command. He previously served as the program executive officer for both the Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power (SDACP); and Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) directorates. He has also served as acting director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office from 2018 to 2019.
Brian Angelo Denaro is a United States Space Force brigadier general who serves as the senior military assistant to the under secretary of the Air Force. He previously served as the program executive officer for space sensing at Space Systems Command.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency