April 11, 2013 Vol
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COMMANDER’S CORNER: MARCH MADNESS - PAGE 3 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Thursday, April 11, 2013 Vol. 57 No. 14 Wing adopts new (again) space surveillance mission By Steve Brady 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The 21st Operations Group assumed the Cobra Dane radar mission at Eareckson Air Station, Shemya Island, Alaska, April 1, and takes responsibility for contract and program management Oct. 1. Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands near the larger island of Attu, and is approximately 1,500 miles southwest of Anchorage. The airport lies on the south side of the two- mile by four-mile island. The radar is about 120 feet tall, the face is about 95 feet in diameter, and with its ability to detect objects about 2,000 miles away, it provides data for the Space Surveillance Network and the Ballistic Missile Defense System. “The Cobra Dane radar will support the 21st Space Wing missile defense and space situational awareness missions,” said Lt. Col. Paul Tombarge, 21st Operations Group commander. The radar will fall under the over- sight of the 13th Space Warning Squadron at Clear AFS, Alaska, and will be designated as 13th SWS, Operating Location-Cobra Dane, he said. The Cobra Dane radar began operations in 1977. Its space surveillance mission was suspended by the Air Force in 1994 due to budget constraints, but was reinstated as a limited duty contractor operation in 1999 with renewed emphasis on the radar’s unique space tracking capabilities for protection of the International Space Station and shuttle orbiter flights, Tombarge said. The radar resumed full-duty operation in 2002 to sup- port increased spacetrack demands. The radar began its missile defense mission as a result of the Cobra Dane Upgrade program in 2004. In 2012, the deputy secretary of defense directed the Air Force to assume responsibility for Cobra Dane. Given the similarities between Cobra Dane and the wing’s upgraded early warning radars, Air Force Space Command directed the 21st SW to assume the Cobra Dane mis- sion, Tombarge said. Cobra Dane will continue to be operated by a contract workforce, and no military personnel will be assigned to the unit at Eareckson AS. (U.S. Air Force photo) The 21st Operations Group assumed the Cobra Dane Radar mission at Eareckson Air Station, Shemya Island, Alaska, April 1. Eareckson AS is located on the western tip of Alaska’s Aleutian islands. The radar has the ability to detect objects about 2,000 miles away, and provides data for the Space Surveillance Network and the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Cobra Dane will continue to be operated by a contract workforce, and no military personnel will be assigned to the unit at Eareckson AS. Wing closing one detachment By Steve Brady MOSS, the decision was made to divest the system and reallocate the 21st Space Wing Public Affairs Office associated manpower and funding where it could be better used.” The detachment held a small guidon casing ceremony March 20, PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — The 21st Space Wing signifying the historical closure of Detachment 4. closed its Morón Optical Space Surveillance System, known as “We count ourselves lucky to be a part of this bittersweet un- Detachment 4, 21st Operations Group, in Morón, Spain, March 31. dertaking,” said Maj. Jacob Pairsh, Detachment 4 commander. “I Situated south of Seville and north of Naval Station Rota in the use the word bittersweet because we personally recognize the hard province of Andalucía, MOSS was a large telescope used to detect, work, countless hours, blood, sweat and tears that have been poured track and identify manmade deep-space objects in support of the into this unit and weapon system. We know we are participating U.S. Strategic Command space control mission. The unit reported in the making of history, and that it is a truly rare opportunity to new foreign and domestic launches to the Joint Space Operations walk away from an assignment and be able to accurately say mis- Center and to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. sion complete.” MOSS began operating in 1998 to fill a coverage gap over the The 11 space operations and maintenance Airmen assigned to Mediterranean Sea. Detachment 4 will be reassigned to other Air Force units. “MOSS was intended to be a short-term solution, but it has been The 21st Operations Group still maintains three ground-based in operation for 14 years and was becoming increasingly difficult to optical surveillance sensors located in Socorro, N.M., Diego Garcia sustain,” said Lt. Col. Paul Tombarge, 21st Operations Group com- in the British Indian Ocean Territories, and Maui, Hawaii, which mander. “With new space surveillance systems online to address continue to provide foundational space surveillance data in support the coverage area and the increasing cost and difficulty to sustain of our nation’s defense. The Morón Optical Space Surveillance System, known as Detachment 4, 21st Operations Group, in Morón, Spain, closed March 31. Data from the telescope, (U.S. Air Force photo) which had become increasingly more costly to operate, was replaced by new space surveillance systems that have come online in recent years. INSIDE News 1-9 Briefs 8 CMSAF Armagno Classifieds 10 6 visits reaches wing stars Like Page 4 Page 6 us SPACE OBSERVER 2 Thursday, April 11, 2013 www.peterson.af.mil Way to shop Airman 1st Class Alyssia Hawkins (left), 21st Force Support Squadron career development technician and 1st Lt. Amanda Thurber, chil- Share dren’s clothing swap installation project officer, gather clothes into a donation bag April 9 at the Child Development Center here. Hawkins Curiosity. and Thurber were picking up clothes at differ- ent locations around base in support of the Read Children’s Clothing Swap. The clothing swap is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 13 at the R.P. Lee Together. Youth Center on Peterson Air Force Base. The event is free and open to anyone with base www.read.gov access. Even if you are unable to donate, you may still shop. 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Product availability may vary by store. You will not own the merchandise until the total amount necessary to acquire ownership DISCOUNT t er .87 is paid in full or you exercise your early purchase option. Ownership is optional. See Store Manager for complete details. ROP1303_MIL_COL.com • 800 SPACE OBSERVER www.peterson.af.mil Thursday, April 11, 2013 3 21ST SPACE WING 21st Space Wing Commander OMMANDER S ORNER Col. Chris Crawford C ’ C Chief of Public Affairs Capt. Holly Hess Editorial Staff March Madness Chief of Internal Information Mr. Steve Brady PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — lenges. To come up with a solid plan, units Heard of “March Madness”? It is a time when Al Strait such as the 21st Comptroller Squadron, 21st dreams are shattered or dreams come true Communications Squadron, the program Published by Colorado Springs Military Newspapers in NCAA basketball. It is also a time when management division and many other wing Group, 31 E. Platte Avenue, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, months and months of practice and prepara- 21st Space Wing units rallied together to ensure we can still 80903, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. tion come together. As one looks back at the accomplish the mission. Louisville made Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the Staff Agencies events leading up to the conclusion of March 21st Space Wing. This commercial enterprise Air Force director changes; they looked for other options; other newspaper is an authorized publication for members of Madness, there are several comparisons we players on the team stepped up.