Hickam AFB, Hawaii, has the newest of the Air Force’s five Distributed Ground Stations, in which intelligence imagery analysts interpret images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles or other intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance assets. “The reachback capability that we represent is amazing,” TSgt. Michael Henry told USAF journalist TSgt. Chris Vadnais. (Read our 2004 article on Operation Reachback.)
The Space Force’s experimental satellite bound for geosynchronous orbit should help to mitigate some of the risks associated with the U.S.’s plans to improve space-based missile warning and tracking. The Wide Field of View Testbed satellite is one of two payloads scheduled to launch on a ULA Atlas 5 during…