1st Space Surveillance Squadron


The United States Air Force's 1st Space Surveillance Squadron was a space surveillance unit located at Griffiss AFB, New York.

Mission

The mission of the 1 SSS was to operate the Low Altitude Space Surveillance system to gather space intelligence and track space systems in near-Earth orbits. The LASS operation supported USAF space intelligence requirements, while being assisted by the 18th Intelligence Squadron's Det 1 for SIGINT support. This coverage augmented worldwide coverage of space signals activities at similarly equipped sites at Misawa AB, Japan, Osan AB, Republic of Korea and at RAF Feltwell and RAF Edzell in the United Kingdom.

History

Due to the creation of mobile versions of the space surveillance systems in 1992 and the BRAC decision regarding Griffiss AFB, AFSPC inactivated the 1 SSS during 1995, distributing surveillance mission requirements to other units. The equipment held at the Verona Test Annex, N.Y. was also distributed to units with similar capabilities.

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