The Military Satellite Communications Directorate is a

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

organization headquartered at

Los Angeles Air Force Base 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 United States Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), which ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is one of several wings and other units that make up the

Space and Missile Systems Center 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 ...

(SMC).

Mission

The MCSW develops, acquires, and sustains space-enabled, global communications capabilities to support national objectives.

Organization

MCSW has five groups and one squadron which deliver three primary Satellite Communications (SATCOM) product lines: The Protected Communications Group provides the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

(DoD) survivable, global, secure, protected, jam-resistant communications for high priority military ground, sea, and air assets. The group provides operations and sustainment support to the on-orbit

Milstar Milstar (Military Strategic and Tactical Relay) is a constellation of military communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit, which are operated by the United States Space Force, and provide secure and jam-resistant worldwide communications ...

Communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

constellation. In addition, the group executes the $6.7B

Advanced Extremely High Frequency Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) is a constellation of communications satellites operated by the United States Space Force. They are used to relay secure communications for the United States Armed Forces, the British Armed Forces, the C ...

(AEHF) and $1.2B Enhanced Polar SATCOM (EPS) programs. The user equipment or terminals for the DoD protected communication systems in the currently operational Milstar Command Post Terminal (CPT) and $3.2B Family of Advanced Beyond-Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) development program. The Wideband Communication Group provides worldwide, high-volume, voice and data communications to the warfighter. The group provides operations and sustainment support for the on-orbit

Defense Satellite Communications System The Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) is a United States Space Force satellite constellation that provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users. Beginning in 2007, DSCS is be ...

(DSCS) constellation. In addition the group executes the $1.9B

Wideband Global SATCOM system The Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS) is a high capacity United States Space Force satellite communications system planned for use in partnership by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) ...

(WGS) and $0.9B

Global Broadcast Service The Global Broadcast Service (GBS) is a broadcast service rapidly transferring information, which may be classified, for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its deployed and garrisoned units worldwide. Information may include video and d ...

(GBS). Wideband communication terminals include the Ground Multi-band Terminal (GMT), the High Data Rate - Radio Frequency (HDR-RF) ground terminal program which is an evolutionary upgrade to the GMT, and the FAB-T Increment 2. The

Transformational Satellite Communications System The Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) program was a United States Department of Defense (DOD) program sponsored by the U.S. Air Force for a secure, high-capacity global communications network serving the Department of Defense, ...

(TSAT) was the DoD's future MILSATCOM System. The $24.0B TSAT system was meant to provide real-time connectivity of all

Global Information Grid The Global Information Grid (GIG) is a network of information transmission and processing maintained by the United States Department of Defense. More descriptively, it is a worldwide network of information transmission, of associated processes, a ...

(GIG) assets; provide Battle Command-On-The-Move capability for Small Mobile Units; worldwide persistent connectivity of high/low resolution Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance; and survivable communications for Strategic Forces. The TSAT program office consisted of the TSAT Network Integration Group, the TSAT Space Group and the TSAT Mission Operations Group. Currently, this program appears to have been canceled. Satellite command and control system development for all MILSATCOM systems is the responsibility of the MILSATCOM C2 Squadron. The squadron directs the Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C) program, the command and control system of record for Milstar, DSCS, and WGS satellites currently on-orbit. Ultimately, CCS-C will control over 26 military communications satellites across four families, including DSCS; Milstar; WGS; and AEHF System, using state-of-the-art commercial telemetry, tracking and commanding (TT&C) technology.

History

Previously known as the MILSATCOM Joint Program Office (MJPO), the Space & Missile Systems Center established the MILSATCOM Systems Wing on 1 August 2006. The team is made up of joint-service military, government civilians,

The Aerospace Corporation 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 mi ...

MITRE The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contractors are government contractors who are contracted to assist the United States Department of Defense (DoD) components, and acquisition programs. (In some areas of DoD, the acronym SETA refer ...

(SETA),

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

(NSA), MCSW's industrial partners and the contract work force that support them.

References

External links

Los Angeles Air Force Base Website
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MSCW Fact Sheet
{{USAF system codes Military units and formations in California Military Satellite Communications Systems Military communications of the United States