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The Work of The 18th Space Defense Squadron
SDA Operations Center

 


Lt. Col. Tyler Eske, 18th Space Defense Squadron (fka 18th Space Control Squadron) director of operations, provides space operators from German Space Situational Awareness Centre a tour of the 18 SDS operations floor. The GSSAC is a civil-military facility that provides space situational awareness for the German government. It uses national and commercial capabilities to create a situational view of space. Cpl. Mitchell Astbury and Sgt. Michael Fuller, 18th Space Defense Squadron space operators on exchange from the Royal Air Force and Canadian NORAD Space Detachment respectively, monitor orbital data on the Space Defense Operations Center weapons system on the 18 SDS operations floor. SPADOC was established at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, to command and control the space surveillance network. SPADOC was later renamed the Space Control Center. A decade later, the Air Force developed CAVENet to augment SPADOC, allowing for higher accuracy collision analysis and threat assessments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Spc. 3 Damaje Benjamin, 18th Space Defense Squadron orbital analyst, discusses orbital mechanics with along with Cpl. Mitchell Astbury, 18 SDS space operator on exchange from the Royal Air Force. 18 SDS has exchange officers with the United Kingdom to promote partnership, information exchange, and interoperability in Space Domain Awareness. Capt. Kim Garcia, 18th Space Defense Squadron operations flight commander, monitors orbital data on the Astrodynamics Support Workstation data on the 18 SDS operations floor. The ASW was first adopted as an operational system in 1998 and currently maintains the Special Perturbations Catalog used for launch detection and tracking, conjunction assessment and collision avoidance, human spaceflight support, maneuver detection, breakup identification, and reentry assessment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Cpl. Mitchell Astbury, 18th Space Defense Squadron space operator on exchange from the Royal Air Force, discusses satellite positional data with SP2 Damaje Benjamin, 18 SDS orbital analyst, on the 18 SDS operations floor. 18 SDS processes space surveillance network data to monitor all activity to, in, and from space, and maintains custody of all resident space objects to provide and advance a continuous, comprehensive, and combat-relevant understanding of the space situation.