PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The 16th Space Control Squadron held an end-of-mission ceremony for its Ultra-High Frequency Standardized Process for Interference Recognition and Interference Targeting at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, June 18, 2018.
The event marked the end of the squadron’s support to the global mission it performed since 2010.
16th SPCS, which is assigned to the 21st Operations Group at Peterson AFB and the 380th SPCS, its Reserve associate unit, is responsible for operating space control capabilities to achieve flexible and versatile space superiority. It also provides capabilities to the combatant commanders to monitor, detect, characterize, geo-locate and report sources of electromagnetic interference on U.S. military and commercial satellites.
The UHF SPIRIT was initialized at Naval Research Laboratory in 1999 as Project SPIRIT. In the first six years, laboratory operations led to increasing Department of Defense requirements, which necessitated a transition from the lab to a program of record.
In 2010, UHF SPIRIT transitioned from the Joint Spectrum Center to the 16th SPCS.
The UHF SPIRIT utilized antenna locations in parts of the U.S. and Asia that fed data to the central operating location at Peterson AFB, allowing Airmen to monitor satellite communication signals in multiple areas around the globe simultaneously. This support for Airmen helped execute their operational missions.
During its nearly eight-year run with the UHF SPIRIT, 16th SPCS and 380th SPCS processed 379 space support requests, 158 ad-hoc taskings and 1,688 operation intelligence reports in support of six combatant commanders.
The UHF SPIRIT operated 24 hours per day seven days per week with 115 certified operators, ensuring space defense throughout its service.
With support for UHF SPIRIT at an end, space defense continues to be a priority for the nation and 16th SPCS and 380th SPCS stand ready to provide support whenever and wherever it’s needed.