30th Space Wing
Encyclopedia
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force
Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
of the Air Force Space Command
Air Force Space Command
Air Force Space Command is a major command of the United States Department of the Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellite, launch and cyber operations....
of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. The 30th Space Wing is based at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California.
The 30 SW is the Air Force Space Command organization responsible for all Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
space and missile launch activities on the West Coast. All U.S. satellites destined for near polar orbit are launched from Vandenberg.
Overview
The wing supports West Coast launch activities for the Air Force, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and various private industry contractors. The wing launches a variety of expendable vehicles including the Delta IIDelta II
Delta II was an American space launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and was in service from 1989 until November 1, 2011...
, Pegasus, Taurus, Atlas
Atlas (rocket family)
Atlas is a family of U.S. space launch vehicles. The original Atlas missile was designed in the late 1950s and produced by the Convair Division of General Dynamics, to be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile...
, Titan II and Titan IV
Titan IV
The Titan IV family of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."The...
. The wing also supports Force Development and Evaluation of all intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The 30th SW is home to the Western Range and manages Department of Defense space and missile testing, and placing satellites into near-polar orbit from the West Coast, using expendable boosters (Delta II, Atlas, Titan II and Titan IV.) Wing personnel also support the Service's Minuteman III and Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation Launch program. The Western Range begins at the coastal boundaries of Vandenberg and extends westward from the California coast to the western Pacific including sites in Hawaii. Operations there involve dozens of federal and commercial interests.
The Western Range, is operated and maintained by the 30th Range Squadron. It is a vast tracking, telemetry and command complex whose boundary begins along Vandenberg's California coastline and extends westward across the Pacific Ocean. The range consists of electronic and optical tracking systems located along the Pacific Coast that collect and process launch-related data for a variety of users.
Units
30th Operations Group30th Operations Group
The 30th Operations Group is an operational component of the United States Air Force 30th Space Wing, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.The group provides the core capability for West Coast spacelift and range operations...
(30 OG)
- 30th Space Communications Squadron (30 SCS)
- 2d Range Operations Squadron (2 ROPS)
- 30th Range Management Squadron (30 RMS)
- 30th Weather Squadron (30 WS)
- 30th Operations Support Squadron (30 OSS)
30th Launch Group (30 LCG)
- 1st Air and Space Test Squadron1st Air and Space Test SquadronThe 1st Air and Space Test Squadron is a division of the 30th Space Wing of the United States Air Force, responsible for spacelift and test operations....
(1 ASTS) - 4th Space Launch Squadron4th Space Launch SquadronThe United States Air Force's 4th Space Launch Squadron is a space launch unit located at Vandenberg AFB, California.-History:Launched surveillance and meteorological satellites into polar earth orbit, 1994-1998...
(4 SLCS) - 30th Launch Support Squadron (30 LCSS)
30th Mission Support Group (30 MSG)
- 30th Contracting Squadron (30 CONS)
- 30th Security Forces Squadron (30 SFS)
- 30th Force Support Squadron (30 FSS)
- 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron (30 LRS)
- 30th Civil Engineer Squadron (30 CES)
30th Medical Group (30 MDG)
- 30th Medical Operations Squadron (30 MDOS)
- 30th Medical Support Squadron (30 MDSS)
Additionally, the 30th Comptroller Squadron (30 CPTS) reports directly to the wing staff.
Lineage
- Established as Air Force Western Test Range, and activated, on 5 May 1964
- Organized on 15 May 1964
- Inactivated on 1 April 1970
- Redesignated Western Space and Missile Center, and activated, on 1 October 1979
- Redesignated 30 Space Wing on 19 November 1991
Assignments
- Air Force Systems CommandAir Force Systems CommandAir Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...
, 5 May 1964 - National Range Division, 15 May 1964 – 1 April 1970
- Space and Missile Test Organization, 1 October 1979
- Space Systems Division, 1 October 1989
- 9th Space Division, 1 October 1990
- Air Force Space CommandAir Force Space CommandAir Force Space Command is a major command of the United States Department of the Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellite, launch and cyber operations....
, 1 October 1991 - Fourteenth Air ForceFourteenth Air ForceThe Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
, 20 September 1993–present
Components
Groups- 30 Operations: 19 November 1991–present
- 30 Launch: 1 December 2003–present
- 6595 Missile Test (later, 6595 Test and Evaluation): 1 October 1979 – 1 October 1990
- 6595 Satellite Test (later, 6595 Aerospace Test): 1 October 1979 – 1 October 1990
- 6595 Shuttle Test: 1 October 1979 – 31 January 1987.
Stations
- Vandenberg Air Force BaseVandenberg Air Force BaseVandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California, 15 May 1964 – 1 April 1970; 1 October 1979–present
Aircraft and Missiles
- UH-1 IroquoisUH-1 IroquoisThe Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
(1991–2007) - Minotaur IMinotaur IThe Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is used to launch small satellites for the US Government, and is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation.Minotaur I rockets consist of the...
- TaurusTaurus rocketTaurus is a four stage, solid fuel launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is based on the air-launched Pegasus rocket from the same manufacturer. The Taurus rocket is able to carry a payload of around 1,350 kg into a low Earth orbit. First launched in 1994,...
- Pegasus
- Delta IIDelta IIDelta II was an American space launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and was in service from 1989 until November 1, 2011...
- Delta IVDelta IV rocketDelta IV is an active expendable launch system in the Delta rocket family. Delta IV uses rockets designed by Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in the United Launch Alliance facility in Decatur, Alabama. Final assembly is completed at the launch site by ULA...
- Atlas VAtlas VAtlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
- Titan IVTitan IVThe Titan IV family of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."The...
- Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
Operations
Upon activation in 1964 the future 30th SW operated and maintained the Western Test Range. The 30th conducted strategicMilitary strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
test programs, including Minuteman force reliability assessment and Peacekeeper
LGM-118A Peacekeeper
The LGM-118A Peacekeeper, also known as the MX missile , was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. A total of 50 missiles were deployed. They have since been deactivated....
flight development efforts. The Wing maintained launch and support facilities for the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
from 1984–1987. It conducted other aerospace systems launching and tracking operations at the California launch site and at several fixed and mobile instrumentation sites in the Pacific. The 30th also provided support personnel to USAF units deployed to Southwest Asia from August 1990 – April 1991, and to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
on a rotational basis thereafter.
Most recently it has also deployed personnel in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Delta IV for NRO
On 20 January 2011, the 30th Space Wing and their commercial partners successfully launched a United Launch AllianceUnited Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. U.S...
Delta IV Heavy rocket into space from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This was the first-ever West Coast launch of the Delta IV Heavy. The 235-foot-tall launch vehicle, the largest ever fired from the US West Coast, carried a classified US intelligence satellite, USA-224
USA-224
USA-224, also known as NRO Launch 49 , is an American reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 2011. It is a KH-11 optical imaging satellite, the fifteenth such spacecraft to be launched, and intended as a replacement of the USA-161 satellite launched in 2001.After the failure of the Boeing...
, aloft for the a top-secret National Reconnaissance Office
National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office , located in Chantilly, Virginia, is one of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. It designs, builds, and operates the spy satellites of the United States government.-Mission:...
.