U.S. SPACE COMMAND HISTORY: SPACE BASED SPACE SURVEILLANCE SATELLITE LAUNCHED

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
AFSPC Milestone: First Space Based Space Surveillance satellite launched
8/25/2012 - Peterson AFB, Colo. -- As Air Force Space Command approaches its 30th Anniversary on 1 Sep, here is a significant milestone from the command's history...

On 26 September 2010, the first Space Based Space Surveillance satellite was launched into a sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., onboard a Minotaur IV rocket. It was the first space-based Space Situational Awareness sensor to be added to AFSPC's Space Surveillance Network.

The SBSS is part of the United States Strategic Command's Space Surveillance Network and is operated by the 1st Satellite Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo. The SBSS satellite is the only space-based sensor in the network, operating 24-hours a day, 7-days a week collecting metric and Space Object Identification data for man-made resident space objects without the disruption of weather, time of day and atmosphere that can limit ground-based systems.

SBSS provides observations and data to the Joint Space Operations Center and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center