10th Space Operations Squadron

U.S. Space Force unit

10th Space Operations Squadron
Squadron emblem
Active	1962–present^[1]
Country	United States
Branch	United States Space Force
Role	Satellite communications
Part of	Space Delta 8
Headquarters	Point Mugu, California, U.S.
Commanders
Commander	Lt Col Jason Sanders
Insignia
Naval Satellite Operations Center (1990-2022)
Navy Astronautics Group (1962-1990)

Military unit

The 10th Space Operations Squadron (10 SOPS) is the United States Space Force unit 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]

History

Navy (1962-2022)

The first military space operations command in history,^[3] the Navy Astronautics Group (e or NAG) was established on May 22, 1962 under the command of CDR J.C. Quillen, Jr.^[4] 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.^[5] The Navy Astronautics Group was redesignated as the Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) in June 1990.

Space Force (2022-present)

In September 2021, it was announced that NAVSOC would be transferred from the Navy to the newly-independent US Space Force under Space Delta 8.^[6]^[7]^[8] On 6 June 2022, NAVSOC was formally disestablished and 10 SOPS assumed its mission, personnel, resources, and heritage in total.^[9] According to Space Delta 8, the squadron was given its number to honor its heritage under 10th Fleet.^[10]

Constellations

The unit has operated various types of military satellites, including:

Constellation	Abbreviation	First launch	Purpose
Transit	NAVSAT or NNSS	1959	Navigation
Fleet Satellite Communications System	FLTSATCOM or FLTSAT	1978	Communication
Geodetic Satellite^[3]	GEOSAT	1985	Earth observation
Ultra High Frequency Follow-On	UFO	1993	Communication
Geodetic Satellite Follow-On^[11]	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, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Dededo, Guam
- Detachment D, Schriever SFB, El Paso County, Colorado

Former site:

Detachment B, Rosemount, Minnesota (disestablished August 1997)

List of commanders

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2022)

Lt Col Jason Sanders, 6 June 2022

References

^ ^a ^b "(U) NAVSOC". www.wslfweb.org.
^ "50th Space Wing's satellites, ground systems buoy NAVSOC". Schriever Space Force Base.
^ ^a ^b "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.
^ "Naval Aviation News" (pdf). February 1963. p. 9. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
^ "U.S. Navy operates on Schriever". Schriever Space Force Base. 13 October 2016.
^ "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.
^ "Space Delta 8". www.facebook.com.
^ "Navy Satellite Center Disestablished, Transferred to U.S. Space Force". SeaPower Magazine. 9 June 2022.
^ "GFO (GEOSAT Follow-On) Satellite". eoPortal Directory. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

External links

Media related to 10th Space Operations Squadron at Wikimedia Commons

United States Space Force

Leadership

Oversight	House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces subcommittee Senate Committee on Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee

Structure

Field commands	Space Futures Command Space Operations Command Commander Space Systems Command Commander Space Training and Readiness Command Commander
Component Field Commands	United States Space Forces Central United States Space Forces Europe and Africa United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific United States Space Forces Korea United States Space Forces – Space
Deltas	Space Delta 1 Space Delta 2 Space Delta 3 Space Delta 4 Space Delta 5 Space Delta 6 Space Delta 7 Space Delta 8 Space Delta 9 Space Delta 10 Space Delta 11 Space Delta 12 Space Delta 13 Space Delta 15 Space Delta 18 Space Delta 21 Space Delta 23 Space Delta 26 Space Launch Delta 30 Space Launch Delta 45 PNT IMD (P) Space Base Delta 1 Space Base Delta 2 Space Base Delta 3
Squadrons	1st Delta Operations 319th Combat Training 328th Weapons 392d Combat Training 533rd Training 21st Operations Support 15th Space Surveillance 18th Space Defense 19th Space Defense 20th Space Surveillance 3rd Combat Training 4th EW 5th EW 16th EW 23rd EW 2nd Space Warning 3rd satellite Communications 5th Space Warning 6th Space Warning 7th Space Warning 10th Space Warning 11th Space Warning 12th Space Warning 13th Space Warning 55th Combat Training 21st Space Operations 22nd Space Operations 23rd Space Operations 62nd Cyberspace 63rd Cyberspace 64th Cyberspace 65th Cyberspace 68th Cyberspace 69th Cyberspace 645th Cyberspace 71st ISR 72nd ISR 73rd ISR 74th ISR 75th ISR 76th ISR 1st Space Operations 2nd Space Operations 3rd Space Operations 4th Space Operations 10th Space Operations 53rd Space Operations 527th Space Aggressor 1st Test and Evaluation 3rd Test and Evaluation 17th Test and Evaluation 25th Space Range 2nd Space Launch 5th Space Launch 1st Range Operations NSSI
Direct reporting units	Space Development Agency Space Rapid Capabilities Office Space Warfighting Analysis Center

Locations

Space Force Bases	Buckley Los Angeles Patrick Peterson Schriever Vandenberg
Space Bases	Pituffik (Greenland)
Space Force Stations	Cape Canaveral Cape Cod Cavalier Cheyenne Mountain Clear Kaena Point New Boston