21st Space Wing

The 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The unit is tasked with the operation of early missile warning and space object detection equipment around the world in support of NORAD and USSTRATCOM through a network of command and control units and ground based sensors operated by geographically separated units around the world.

The Wing’s services include more than 9,000 government and contractor personnel who detect, track and catalog more than 14,000 catalogued man-made objects in space, from those in near-Earth orbit to objects up to 22,300 miles above the Earth's surface and explores counterspace warfighting technologies in the field.

Mission

Conduct world class space superiority operations and provide unsurpassed installation support and protection while deploying Warrior Airmen.

Operations

The 21 SW operate and maintain a complex system of U.S. and foreign-based radars that detect and track ballistic missile launches, launches of new space systems, and provide data on foreign ballistic missile events through its communication and control with CMAS, TABG, CAFS, and CCAFS.

Ballistic missile warning allows the US to monitor at least 20 nations that currently have nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, and the technology to deliver them over long distances, including some with the ability to launch intercontinental......
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