Air Force Satellite Control Network
|
|
The Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) is an collection of resources within the US Air Force used to track military satellites, receive and process telemetry transmitted by them, and relaying commands to these satellites. Dedicated control segments support satellite families, but this common user element provides support to all Department of Defense satellites. The common user element consists of a control node, a central scheduling facility, remote tracking sites, and communication links connecting them. AFSCN was originally activated to support the CORONA/Discoverer program in 1959. An interim satellite control center was initially established in Palo Alto, California, and by June, 1960, a permanent control center had been established in Sunnyvale, California. The control center, now at Schriever Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado, functions as a central command and control node for the remote tracking stations established at several different locations. These locations include such exotic locales as Hawaii, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and Thule, Greenland.