The Naval Space Command (NSC) was a military
command of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and former component command of
United States Space Command. It was headquartered at
Dahlgren, Virginia, and began operations on 1 October 1983. Naval Space Command used space capabilities to support naval forces through the operation of
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
and
communications satellites, as well as representing the Navy's space interests, both within the Navy and within U.S. Space Command.
The command was merged into Naval Network and Space Operations Command, itself part of
Naval Network Warfare Command, about July 2002.
History
In the late 1950s the
United States Naval Research Laboratory's
Project Vanguard Minitrack system used electronic signals emitted by
Sputnik and other satellites to characterize their orbits, serving as one of the first methods of ground-based satellite tracking. This system would become commissioned in 1961 as the
Naval Space Surveillance System, and in 1993 the system would be transferred to Naval Space Command. Three transmitter sites in the network were located at Jordan Lake, Alabama,
Lake Kickapoo, Texas, and
Gila River, Arizona, while six receiver sites were located at
Tattnall County, Georgia,
Hawkinsville, Georgia, Silver Lake, Mississippi, Red River, Arkansas,
Elephant Butte, New Mexico, and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, California.
In 1987 the Naval Space Command was given the responsibility for operating the Alternate Space Operations Center for U.S. Space Command. Additionally, NSC had responsibility for operating U.S. Space Command's space surveillance networks, as well as providing space intelligence support to naval forces.
While officially disestablished in 2002, in 2004 significant components of Naval Space Command were transferred to
Air Force Space Command's
20th Space Control Squadron
The 20th Space Surveillance Squadron (20 SPSS) is a Space Delta 2 unit located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida with the mission to execute multiplatform, tactical space warfighting domain characterization, recognition, and responsiveness to a ...
. These components include the former Naval Space Surveillance System (renamed the Air Force Space Surveillance System) and the responsibility for operating the Alternate Space Operations Center.
See also
*
Naval Information Warfare Systems Command
References
{{Authority control
Space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually con ...
Space units and formations of the United States
Military units and formations established in 1983
Military units and formations disestablished in 2002
Military space program of the United States