38-458: Space division may refer to: 9th Space Division General Electric Space Division Space and Missile Systems Center literally a division of space, as in case of Space-division multiple access Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Space Division . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
76-411: A BMEWS "signature analysis program" on scale models by January 1963. Operations transferred from civilian contractors (RCA Government Services) to ADC on January 5, 1962 (renamed Aerospace Defense Command in 1968.) Fylingdales became operational on September 17, 1963, and Site III transferred to RAF Fighter Command on January 15, 1964. Remaining BMEWS development responsibilities transferred to
114-527: A BMEWS communications outage to Ent and Offutt – a B-52 near Thule confirmed the site still remained. Training for civilian technicians included a February 1961 RCA class in New Jersey for a Tracking Radar Automatic Monitoring class. The "Clear Msl Early Warning Stn, Nenana, AK " was assigned to Hanscom Field , Massachusetts, by the JCA on April 1, 1961. By May 16, 1961, Ent's "War Room at NORAD" had
152-706: A BMEWS display facility with "austere and economical construction with minimum equipment" was planned in an "annex to the current COC building". In late 1959, ARPA opened the 474L System Program Office, and BMEWS' " 12th Missile Warning Squadron at Thule...began operating in January 1960." Following a Nike ABM intercept of a test missile, the planned Cheyenne Mountain mission was expanded in August 1960 to "a hardened center from which CINCNORAD would supervise and direct operations against space attack as well as air attack" (NORAD assumed "operational control of all space assets with
190-665: A ballistic missile defense system display facility...brought renewed action...for a new command post" (the JCS approved the nuclear bunker on February 11, 1959). On January 14, 1958, the US announced its decision to establish a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System with Thule to be operational in 1959—total Thule/Clear costs in a May 1958 estimate were ~$ 800 million (an October 13, 1958, plan for both estimated completion in September 1960.) The Lincoln Laboratory 's radar at Millstone Hill , Massachusetts,
228-550: A glass map for plotting aircraft and had a "map [that] lights up" to show multiple impact ellipses and times "before the huge missile[s] would burst" (separate from Ent's BMEWS CC&DF building, the two-story blockhouse had a war room with, left of the main NORAD region display, a BMEWS display map and "threat summary display" with a count of incoming missiles.) The Trinidad Test Site transferred from Rome AFB to Patrick AFB on July 1, 1961 (closed as "Trinidad Air Station" in 1971) and
266-440: A large radome . These radars provided high-resolution angular and ranging information that was fed to a computer for rapid calculation of the probable impact points of the missile warheads. The systems were upgraded several times over their lifetime, replacing the mechanically scanned systems with phased array radar that could perform both roles at the same time. BMEWS equipment included: To predict when parts might break down,
304-478: A precaution. The division was inactivated in 1968 when its mission was elevated to a Numbered Air Force level, and transferred along with its personnel and equipment to the Fourteenth Aerospace Force on 1 July. The most recent incarnation the 9th Space Division began in 1990 when Air Force Space Command (AFSPACECOM) reactivated the organization to provide an action mechanism to "operationalize"
342-608: A tracking radar station at Cape Clear to close the BMEWS gap with Thule for low-angle missiles (versus those with the 15-65 degree angle for which BMEWS was designed.) By mid-1962, BMEWS "quick fixes" for ECCM had been installed at Fylingdales Moor, Thule and Cape Clear AK and by June 30, integration of BMEWS and SPADATS at Ent AFB was completed. During the Cuban Missile Crisis , the Moorestown AN/FPS-49 radar on October 24
380-402: A very wide horizontal front at two narrow vertical angles. These were used to provide wide-front coverage of missiles rising into their radar horizon , and by tracking them at two points as they climbed, enough information to determine their rough trajectory. The second type of radar was used for fine tracking of selected targets, and consisted of a very large steerable parabolic reflector under
418-497: Is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Force Space Command , being stationed at Patrick Air Force Base , Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1991. The organization has had several periods of activation over its lifetime. Initially established in April 1949 as the 9th Air Division (Tactical) under Fourteenth Air Force , Continental Air Command at Pope Air Force Base , North Carolina,
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#1732851523790456-680: The 25th Air Division (AD), after the 25th AD was realigned over the Washington and Oregon coastal area west of the Cascade Mountains . It participated in the United States Air Force collateral mission of antisubmarine warfare and administered, equipped, and trained for combat. It was inactivated in 1958 when the Spokane Air Defense Sector was established by ADC to take over its responsibilities. The third incarnation of
494-547: The AN/FPS-35 radar site at Thomasville Air Force Station , Alabama. All three stations were in turn tied into the command centers at NORAD and at Strategic Air Command . This missile detection network remained in operation until 28 November and the Moorestown and Laredo sites were returned to their normal SPADATS mission when Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba. The Thomasville station, retained coverage until late December as
532-620: The Beale AFB PAVE PAWS became operational. By 1976, BMEWS included IBM 7094 , CDC 6000 , and Honeywell 800 computers. On October 1, 1979, Thule and Clear transferred to Strategic Air Command when ADCOM was broken up then to Space Command in 1982. By 1981 Cheyenne Mountain had been averaging 6,700 messages per hour compiled via sensor inputs from BMEWS, the JSS , the 416N SLBM "Detection and Warning System, COBRA DANE , and PARCS as well as SEWS and PAVE PAWS " for transmission to
570-530: The Cuban Missile Crisis , the division implemented an improvised missile warning system directed toward the missile threat from Cuba called " Falling Leaves ." In October 1962, the SPADATS AN/FPS-49 radar at Moorestown Air Force Station , New Jersey was reoriented south and directed toward Cuba. A communication network was established with Moorestown, the AN/FPS-78 radar at Laredo Air Force Base , Texas and
608-640: The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), all U.S. military radar and tracking systems are assigned a unique identifying alphanumeric designation. The letters “AN” (for Army-Navy) are placed ahead of a three-letter code. Thus, the AN/FPS-49 represents the 49th design of an Army-Navy “Fixed, Radar, Search” electronic device. On June 2, 1955, a General Electric AN/FPS-17 "XW-1" radar at Site IX in Turkey that had been expedited
646-601: The "Space Track SPO (496L)" when the BMEWS SPO closed on February 14, 1964 —e.g., the AN/FPS-92 with "66-inch panels" was added to Clear in 1966 (last of the five tracking radars), and in 1967, BMEWS modification testing was complete on May 15, when the system cost totaled $ 1.259 billion, equivalent to $ 8.78 billion in 2023. In 1968, Ent's 9th Division HQ had a Spacetrack/BMEWS Maintenance Section. In 1975, SECDEF told Congress that Clear would be closed when Cobra Dane and
684-623: The 1950s that the Soviet Union was developing ICBMs, the US was already building an early-warning radar system in the Arctic, the DEW line , but it was designed to detect bombers and did not have the capability of tracking ICBMs. The challenges of designing a system that could detect and track a massive strike of hundreds of ICBMs were formidable. The radar sites were located as far north in the Arctic as possible, to give maximum warning time of an attack. However,
722-509: The USAF Wizard and/or Army Nike Zeus ABMs became operational), and the basement of the 1954 ADC blockhouse was considered for the interim center. A " satellite prediction computer " could be added to the planned missile warning center if Cheyenne Mountain's "hardened COC slipped considerably beyond January 1962" (tunneling began in June 1961.) In early 1959 for use at Ent in September 1960,
760-731: The WIZARD system ) and on February 4, 1958; the USAF informed Air Defense Command (ADC) that BMEWS was an "all-out program" and the "system has been directed by the President , has the same national priority as the ballistic missile and satellite programs and is being placed on the Department of Defense master urgency list." By July 1958 after NORAD manning began, ADC's 1954 blockhouse for the Ent AFB command center had inadequate floor space; and Ent's "requirement for
798-454: The command had no units assigned but was to act as a headquarters over tactical units. It was inactivated in August 1950. It was redesignated 9th Air Division (Defense) and reactivated in October 1954 by Air Defense Command (ADC) and assigned to Western Air Defense Force (WADF) at Geiger Field , Washington, taking over control of air defense units in eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho from
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#1732851523790836-818: The contractor also installed RCA 501 computers with 32k high-speed memory, 5-76KC 556 bpi 3/4" tape drives, and 200-track random-access LFE drums. The initially replaced portions of BMEWS included the Ent CC&;DF by the Burroughs 425L Missile Warning System at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex ( FOC July 1, 1966.) The original Missile Impact Predictors were replaced ( IOC on August 31, 1984), and BMEWS systems were entirely replaced by 2001 (e.g., radars were replaced with AN/FPS-120 SSPARS) after Satellite Early Warning Systems had been deployed (e.g., 1961 MIDAS , 1968 Project 949 , and 1970 DSP satellites). Under
874-573: The date of an Atlas II B firing from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 11 (lunar reflection was tested January–June 1960). On June 30, 1958, NORAD emphasized that the BMEWS could not be considered as a self-contained entity separate from the Nike Zeus , or vice versa. On March 18, 1959, the USAF told the BMEWS Project Office to proceed with an interim facility for the " AICBM control center " with an anti-ICBM C computer (e.g., for when
912-459: The formation of" SPADATS in October 1960.) The 1st Aerospace Surveillance and Control Squadron (1st Aero) was activated at Ent AFB on February 14, 1961; and Ent's Federal Building was completed c. 1960-1 . Clear AFS construction began in August 1958 with 700 workers and was completed July 1, 1961, and Thule Site J construction began by May 18, 1960, with radar pedestals complete by June 2. Thule testing began on May 16, 1960, IOC
950-490: The ground and land-based US ICBMs to be launched, to reduce the chances that a preemptive strike could destroy US strategic nuclear forces. The shortest ( great circle ) route for a Soviet ICBM attack on North America is across the North Pole , so the BMEWS facilities were built in the Arctic at Clear Air Force Station in central Alaska , and Site J near Thule Air Force Base , Thule, Greenland . When it became clear in
988-408: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Space_Division&oldid=1023250778 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages 9th Space Division The 9th Space Division (9th SD)
1026-853: The organization began in 1961 with its reactivation as the 9th Aerospace Defense Division was associated with the North American Aerospace Defense Command by ADC, assuming responsibility for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System , the Missile Defense Alarm System , the Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS), the NORAD combat operations Center, the Bomb Alarm System , and the Nuclear Detonation System . During
1064-465: The same month, the 1st Aero began using Ent's Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS) operation center in building P4's annex (Cheyenne Mtn's Space Defense Center became fully operational in 1967.) The BRCS undersea cable was cut "presumably by fishing trawlers" in September, October, and November 1961 (the BMEWS teletype and backup SSB substituted); and in December 1961, Capt. Joseph P. Kaufman
1102-699: The space launch capabilities of Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) and Western Space and Missile Center (WSMC) units transferred from Air Force Systems Command to AFSPACECOM during 1990–1991. ESMC and WSMC became respectively the 45th Space Wing and 30th Space Wing within two months of the Division's inactivation in 1991. Centers Wings Groups Squadrons [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency AN/FPS-49 The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System ( BMEWS , 474L System , Project 474L )
1140-470: The time between when a Soviet missile would rise above the horizon and be detected and when it would reach its target in the US was only 10 to 25 minutes. BMEWS consisted of two types of radars and various computer and reporting systems to support them. The first type of radar consisted of very large, fixed rectangular partial-parabolic reflectors with two primary feed points. They produced two fan-shaped microwave beams that allowed them to detect targets across
1178-489: Was "withdrawn from SPADATS and realigned to provide missile surveillance over Cuba." 1962 "strikes and walkouts" delayed Fylingdales' planned completion from March until September 1963 and on November 7, the Pentagon BMEWS display subsytem installation was complete. At the end of 1962, NORAD was "concerned over BMEWS' virtual inability to detect objects beyond a range of 1500 nautical miles." The Moorestown FPS-49 completed
Space Division - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-474: Was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar , computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve radars, which was constructed beginning in 1958 and became operational in 1961, was built to detect a mass ballistic missile attack launched on northern approaches [for] 15 to 25 minutes' warning time also provided Project Space Track satellite data (e.g., about one-quarter of SPADATS observations). It
1254-591: Was built and provided data to a 1958 for trajectory estimates, e.g., Cape Canaveral missiles, and an adjunct high-power UHF test facility employed the Millstone transmitter to stress-test the components that were candidates for the operational BMEWS. (A twin of the Millstone Hill radar was dedicated at Saskatchewan 's Prince Albert Radar Laboratory on June 6, 1959.) A prototype AN/FPS-43 BMEWS radar completed at Trinidad in 1958 went operational on February 4, 1959,
1292-544: Was charged "with giving [BMEWS] defense data to ... East German Communists." The 71st Surveillance Wing, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System , was activated on December 6, 1961, at Ent AFB (renamed 71st Missile Warning Wing on January 1, 1967, at McGuire AFB July 21, 1969 – April 30, 1971). Syracuse's BMEWS Test Facility at GE's High-Power Radar Laboratory became the responsibility of Rome Air Development Center on April 11, 1962 (Syracuse's Eagle Hill Test Annex closed in 1970) and on July 31, 1962, NORAD recommended
1330-531: Was completed by the US in proximity to the ballistic missile launch test site at Kapustin Yar in the Soviet Union for tracking Soviet rockets and to demonstrate the feasibility of advanced Doppler processing, high-power system components, and computerized tracking needed for BMEWS [ sic ]. The first missile tracked was on June 15, and the radar's parabolic reflector was replaced in 1958, and its range
1368-619: Was completed on September 30, and the initial operational radar transmission was in October 1960 (initially duplex vacuum tube IBM 709s occupied two floors). On October 5, 1960, when Khrushchev was in New York, radar returns during moonrise at Thule produced a false alarm . On January 20, 1961, CINCNORAD approved two-second FPS-50 frequency hoping to eliminate reception of echoes beyond artificial satellite orbits. On November 24, 1961, an AT&T operator failure at their Black Forest microwave station northeast of Colorado Springs caused
1406-419: Was extended from 1000 to 2000 nautical miles after the 1957 Gaither Commission identified that because of expected Soviet ICBM development, there would be little likelihood of SAC's bombers surviving since there was no way to detect an incoming attack until the first warhead landed. BMEWS' General Operational Requirement 156 was issued on November 7, 1957 (BMEWS was designed to go with the active portion of
1444-612: Was replaced by the Solid State Phased Array Radar System in 2001. The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was a radar system built by the United States (with the cooperation of Canada and Denmark on whose territory some of the radars were sited) during the Cold War to give early warning of a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) nuclear strike , to allow time for US bombers to get off
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