AFSCF Planning Towards the 1990's

Abstract

The Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) came into being over twenty years ago, and since then has evolved into a satellite support network of major national importance. The present configuration of the AFSCF includes seven Remote Tracking Stations (RTS's) situated around the globe plus a central control facility, the Satellite Test Center (STC), located in Sunnyvale, California. (See Figure 1.) Ongoing plans will provide for significant upgrades and additions to the AFSCF network. Two of these which will have a major influence on the operations of AFSCF into the 1990's are the centralization of the real-time processing capability at the STC (Data Systems Modernization) and the implementation of a Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC) tentatively planned to be constructed in Colorado Springs, Colorado. These two upgrades to the AFSCF are discussed (see Figure 2) in detail elsewhere in these proceedings under their respective titles.