Naval Satellite Operations Center
Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) is the United States Navy command responsible for operating the Mobile User Objective System and Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On satellite constellations, providing global communications to the United States Armed Forces.[1][2]
Naval Satellite Operations Center | |
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![]() NAVSOC unit emblem | |
Active | 1962–present[1] |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Role | Satellite communications |
Part of | U.S. Naval Information Forces (ADCON) United States Tenth Fleet (OPCON) |
Headquarters | Point Mugu, California, U.S. |
Insignia | |
NWU Type III shoulder patch | ![]() |
In September 2021, it was announced that NAVSOC would be transferred from the Navy to the newly-independent United States Space Force under Space Delta 8.[3][4][5]
History
NAVSOC, the first military space operations command in history,[6] was founded in April 1962 as the Navy Astronautics Group (NAVASTROGRU or NAG). Tasked with operating the Navy's satellites, the unit commanded the Navy Navigational Satellite System, also known as Transit - the world's first satellite navigation system.[7] Navy Astronautics Group was redesignated as Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) in June 1990.
NAVSOC has operated military satellites of many types:
Constellation | Abbreviation | First launch | Purpose |
---|---|---|---|
Transit | NAVSAT or NNSS | 1959 | Navigation |
Fleet Satellite Communications System | FLTSATCOM or FLTSAT | 1978 | Communication |
Geodetic Satellite[8] | GEOSAT | 1985 | Earth observation |
Ultra High Frequency Follow-On | UFO | 1993 | Communication |
Geodetic Satellite Follow-On[9] | GFO | 1998 | Earth observation |
Mobile User Objective System | MUOS | 2012 | Communication |
Command Structure
- Headquarters, Naval Base Ventura County - Point Mugu, California
- Detachment A, Prospect Harbor, Maine
- Detachment C, NCTS Guam
- Detachment D, Schriever SFB, Colorado
Former site:
See also
External links
Media related to Naval Satellite Operations Center at Wikimedia Commons
References
- "(U) NAVSOC". www.wslfweb.org.
- "50th Space Wing's satellites, ground systems buoy NAVSOC". Schriever Space Force Base.
- "Space Force reveals which Army and Navy units are moving to the space branch". SpaceNews. 21 September 2021.
- "Army, Navy SATCOM Mission Areas Shifting to U.S. Space Force". United States Space Force.
- "Army, Navy satellite operations to consolidate under Space Force". SpaceNews. 23 June 2021.
- "From the Sea to the Stars A Chronicle of the U.S. Navy's Space and Space-related Activities, 1944-2009". Naval History and Heritage Command. 2010.
- "U.S. Navy operates on Schriever". Schriever Space Force Base. 13 October 2016.
- "From the Sea to the Stars A Chronicle of the U.S. Navy's Space and Space-related Activities, 1944-2009". Naval History and Heritage Command. 2010.
- "GFO (GEOSAT Follow-On) Satellite". eoPortal Directory. Retrieved 18 February 2022.