The Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) is a unit of the 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 wing

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....

 is located at Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

.

Mission

The Space Development and Test Directorate develops, tests and evaluates Air Force space systems, executes advanced space development and demonstration projects, and rapidly transitions capabilities to the warfighter.

History

The Space Development and Test Wing was activated 1 August 2006. Prior to that, Detachment 12 of the Space and Missile Systems Center

Space and Missile Systems Center

The Space and Missile Systems Center is a part of Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. SMC is the Air Force’s product center for the development and acquisition of space and missile systems...

 had been activated at Kirtland AFB 29 June 2001, taking responsibility for research, developmental test and evaluation organizations that had been co-located at Kirtland AFB alongside the Air Force Research Laboratory

Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and...

 Space Vehicles and Directed Energy Directorates.

Units

The Space Development and Test Wing is divided into two Groups

Group (air force unit)

A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...

, the Space Development Group and the Space Test Group.

• Space Development Group
  • Responsive Space Squadron
  • Responsive Satellite Command and Control Division
  • Human Spaceflight Payloads Division - Houston, TX

• Space Test Group
  • Space Test Squadron
    • SOC 96 - Schriever AFB
    • SOC 97 - Kirtland AFB
  • Space Test Operations Squadron
  • Launch Test Squadron

See also

• Space Test Program
  Space Test Program
  The Space Test Program is the primary provider of spaceflight for the United States Department of Defense space science and technology community. STP is conducted by the Space Development and Test Wing of the United States Air Force...
  
  
• Space and Missile Systems Center
  Space and Missile Systems Center
  The Space and Missile Systems Center is a part of Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. SMC is the Air Force’s product center for the development and acquisition of space and missile systems...
  
  
• C/NOFS
  C/NOFS
  C/NOFS, or Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System is a satellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate to investigate and forecast scintillations in the Earth's ionosphere...
  
  
• STP-S26
• Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule