Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (CMSFS) is located in Cheyenne Mountain on the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

El Paso County, Colorado El Paso County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. The 2020 Census recorded its population as 730,395. The Census Bureau's 2020 result indicates it is the most populous county in Colorado, surpassing the City and County of D ...

, next to

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, The

Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities o ...

, an underground facility within Cheyenne Mountain SFS, was first built for the

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD) Combat Operations Center, though NORAD moved day-to-day operations to its headquarters on Peterson AFB in 2006. However, day-to-day operations were moved back in 2011 after a major overhaul and renovation. The location now supports U.S. Space Command's

Missile Warning Center The Missile Warning Center (MWC) is a center that provides missile warning and defense for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, incorporating both space-based and terrestrial sensors. The MWC is located at Cheyenn ...

, other strategic warning and survivable capabilities, and provides a ready alternative operating location for NORAD's command center.

Background

Until 2006, Cheyenne Mountain was the center for the

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

and

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

which monitored the air space of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

through a worldwide system for early warnings of missiles, space systems, and foreign aircraft. The operations center was moved from an above-ground facility, vulnerable to missile or bomber attack, to the "granite shielded security" within Cheyenne Mountain during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

as the

. The complex was built in the mid-1960s, began operations in 1966, and NORAD's Combat Operation Center was fully operational on 6 February 1967. Today the Space Force Station is used as a crew training center and is

skeleton crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

ed and maintained as an alternate command center. It has its own power plant, heating and cooling system, and water supply. The underground complex was built under of granite within five acres of excavated tunnels. Structures outside of the military complex include the parking lots and roads, an old heliport, and the fire station. Outdoor facilities include Mountain Man Park, picnic areas, a racquetball facility, softball field, sand volleyball, basketball, a putting green, and horseshoes. There is a fitness center inside and outside the mountain. The portals for the blast tunnel are entered off the parking lot. The Air Force is responsible for all of NORAD Road, to Hwy 115, but has permitted local residents to access the road with motorized vehicles only per an easement agreement between the Space Force and City of Colorado Springs. A military gate limits NORAD Road usage past the residential turn-off just west of the State Highway 115 interchange. The military complex has, in the past, included many units of NORAD, U.S. Space Command,

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. Ov ...

, Air Weather Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The complex's communication center is also used by the nearby U.S. Civil Defense Warning Center. The station has an exercise, weights, and cardio gym that is open 24 hours a day.

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 ...

units are under the command of the 21st Space Wing at

Peterson Space Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force, U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airp ...

. Colorado Springs has a number of military installations. The others are Fort Carson,

Schriever Space Force Base Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schriever Air Force Base, Falcon Air Force Base, and Falcon Air Force Station, is a base of the United States Space Force located approximately east of Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs in ...

, and the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

Air Force Space Command

The entire installation at Cheyenne Mountain was designated the Cheyenne Mountain Air Station by February 1995. In 2000, the installation was renamed Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. That year all Air Force Space Command Air Stations in the United States have been redesignated as Air Force Stations. At one time, the Air Force Station was the site of NORAD's Air Defense Operations Center. That function, along with other day-to-day NORAD operational missions moved to the NORAD and USNORTHCOM headquarters building on Peterson Air Force Base.

Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station is supported and operated by the

21st Space Wing The 21st Space Wing (21 SW) was the United States Space Force's ground–based missile warning and space control wing. The 21st Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The 21 ...

, which is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base and under the command of Space Operations Command (SpOC) and U.S. Space Command. In addition to supporting Peterson Space Force Base, the wing conducts operation space missions such as operating missile warning radar and cataloging objects in space for the U.S. Space Command. Those operational missions are managed by the 21st Operations Group. The 21st Space Wing operates radar systems in the United States and worldwide, monitoring for launches of ballistic missiles and new space systems up to above the Earth. As of 2014, there are at least 20 countries able to launch long-range weapons, including chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Cheyenne Mountain AFS force support and logistics services are provided by the 21st Mission Support Group at Peterson SFB. All other support such as equipment and facilities, including the Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment (ITW/AA) weapon system, are operated and maintained by the 721st Mission Support Group of the 21st Space Wing. The 721 Mission Support Group is located at Cheyenne Mountain. The 721st Civil Engineering Squadron operated from 1966. Under Col. Joseph Turk, 721st Mission Support Group Commander at the time, it was reactivated, reversing a 2004 action where its functions were outsourced. The last active duty commander was Lt. Col. Todd Wynn, who is now retired. It was re-activated on 17 July 2012, bringing some of the functions in-house under civilian employees. The civil engineering squadron is responsible for the engineering, maintenance, and operation of the complex. In 2006, the Space Control Center, the command and control hub for space surveillance in the United States, transferred its operations to the newly created Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) from Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. The JSpOC belongs to United States Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component for Space (JFCC SPACE); it is not part of NORAD or U.S. Northern Command. The Air Force Space Command support remained at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station under the 21st Space Wing's 721st Mission Support Group. Global warning functions within the complex include the North American Aerospace Defense Command/U.S. Northern Command's Alternate Command Center, U.S. Strategic Command's Missile Warning Center, the 721st Global Strategic Warning/Space Surveillance System Center of the Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment system. The Missile Warning Center, a directorate under USSTRATCOM's JFCC Space, was upgraded in June 2011, upon completion of a US$2.9 million project over 18 months. It was funded by USSTRATCOM and resulted in newer computers, more efficient workspace, a new knowledge visual display, new joint worldwide intelligence communication systems, and a new electronic procedural checklist. CMSFS updates base sign to reflect Space Force 211020-F-IT949-1003

CMSFS updates base sign to reflect Space Force 211020-F-IT949-1003

Tons of debris built up at the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station following heavy rainfall and a resulting rock slide in September 2013. The 4th Infantry Division, with support by the 615th Engineer Company, 52nd Engineer Battalion, of Fort Carson cleared away the debris from a rockslide and uprooted trees. The storm and resulting debris did not limit the Air Force Station's operations, according to the 721st Mission Support Group's commander Col. Travis Harsha, who became commander on 11 July 2013 for the now retired Col. Joseph Turk. On 5 September 2013, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station hosted an event with

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

(FBI), local sheriffs and police chiefs, Army security forces, and Air Force security across several military installations about partnering for law enforcement and emergency management events, like terrorist threats, criminal activity, and forest fires. Partnering with law enforcement and the community helps to "foster information sharing and maximize joint training opportunities", according to Col. Travis Harsha, the CMAFS installation commander and 721st Mission Support Group Commander. On 20 December 2019, Air Force Space Command was redesignated as the

U.S. 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 ...

and elevated to become an independent military branch. On 26 July 2021, the installation was renamed Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station.

Cheyenne Mountain

The facility is adjacent to the

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Cheyenne Mountain State Park is a Colorado state park that was acquired in June 2000 through a partnership between the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado State Parks, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Colorado Lottery, El Paso County, and other l ...

. A telecommunication

antenna farm Antenna farm or satellite dish farm or just dish farm are terms used to describe an area dedicated to television or radio telecommunications transmitting or receiving antenna equipment, such as C, Ku or Ka band satellite dish antennas, UHF/V ...

is located on the highest point and Pike National Forest is on the west side of the mountain. The mountain is also the site of the

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a zoological park located southwest of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Cheyenne Mountain in the United States. At an elevation of 6,714 feet (2,046 m) above sea level, it is the highest zoo in America. The zo ...

and Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun.

Notes

References

External links