The legacy of Space: A SpOC veteran highlight

  • Published
  • By Ashley George
  • Space Operations Command Public Affairs
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo --  These days you can’t scroll through the news without seeing a mention of the Space Force. Whether it be launches, commercial partnership, or even basing decisions, Space seems to be top tea.

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, prior to the Space Force activation in late 2019, it’s safe to say the general public had no idea what role outer space had in the military or who was driving all those satellites. And maybe most folks still don’t know what a Guardian does, but what we do know is that smart watches don’t track locations independently.   
 
So, who was doing Space before Space was trending? Space Operations Command veterans, please stand up.

The legacy of Space Operations Command technically starts in 1982 when Space Command was established and then renamed Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) in 1985. The command was redesignated to Space Operations Command, commonly referred to as SpOC, after the activation of the U.S. Space Force in 2019.

SpOC heritage goes back further than their establishment and is even further tethered by decades of progress and innovation driven by the people who serve in Space.

The ‘80s

When most of U.S. was playing on an Atari and or navigating the Oregan Trail on a school MAC, servicemembers were pioneering the effects of Space operations. Many of those servicemembers continue to serve in SpOC as civilian Guardians today.

It was shortly after SpOC’s establishment when (then) 2nd Lt Ronald Berkley in-processed the 1st Space Wing on Peterson Air Force Base (now Space Force Base). Berkley served in multiple specialties in his more than 23-year career in the Air Force, all of which were focused on the Space domain. However, his 15 seconds of fame came early in his career when he was serving as an orbital analyst supporting anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) test and operations. As a very junior officer and Space operator, Berkley wrote procedures and checklists for developing targeting data and conducting battle damage assessment. The moment of ‘fame’ was in 1985 when he provided targeting data for the Air Force’s first successful satellite intercept. Since nearly all Space operations back then (and still now) were classified, this success went unnoticed by most. But, nonetheless, still a major SpOC fingerprint in the evolution of Space operations.  

It is important to note that in 2022 the U.S. government announced its commitment to end the practice of ASAT tests because of the debris it causes in space and the resulting treat to orbiting satellites. 

Berkley went on to serve as Missile Warning Officer and helped stand up the 614th Space Group in the mid-90s. He retired from active duty in 2004 and transitioned to the civil service. He has been working at SpOC since it was activated and currently serves as a mathematician in the Transformation Directorate.

“My service was unique, but I managed to serve more than 23 years, all in the Space environment,” said Berkley. “It still astounds me the level of responsibility we give junior service members in the Space Force. I don’t think I realized how important my role was in national defense back then. The Space Force just continues to be even more vital as the landscape of national defense changes.”

Another pioneer, for women in service and for AFSPC, Michele Gaudreault commissioned in the early ‘80s and her first assignment was with the 6595th Shuttle Test Group, Detachment AA, in Palm Dale, California. Here she was one of four officers, and the only female, to serve as a NASA test director for the construction of Orbiter Atlantis. Atlantis is the fourth operational Space Shuttle built and made its maiden flight from October 3 to 7, 1985. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times – and Gaudreault has a part in that legacy.

Quickly following the Atlantis project, Gaudreault transferred to Vandenburg Air Force Base (now Space Force Base) to prep Space Launch Pad 6 (SLC 6) for a space shuttle launch. Most people know space shuttles launched from the Kennedy Space Center, not Vandenberg, and that is because after the tragedy of the Challenger launch, SLC 6 was repurposed due to budget, safety, and political considerations.    

“Once we lost Challenger, and subsequently the launch pad, I started to look for the ‘what’s next’ in my career,” said Gaudreault. “I found that academia felt like home.”

Gaudreault was picked up by the Air Force Institute for Technology to achieve her Master Degree – only one of three women in a class of 42 – and a follow-on doctorate program. She spent the rest of active duty in science and technology assignments and eventually made her way back to Space in 2004 as a reservist signed to AFSPC. In March 2008 she switched to civilian service when she was hired as the Chief of Technology Assessments under AFSPC. She continues to leave fingerprints all over Space advancement in her current role as Chief Scientist for the command, ensuring the warfighter’s voice is heard in the science and technology process.

The ‘90s

Moving along to the introduction of the World Wide Web and the first appearance of GPS in a cell phone – and all the movement that was the ‘90s.

When Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait precipitated Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990–1991, the United States and its allies employed, for the first time ever in a conflict, the entire array of available space-based capabilities to support tactical air, land, and sea operations. For the first time, space assets allowed warfighters to know where they were in a featureless desert, know where the enemy was located, and to maintain fire support, and command and control -- dubbing Desert Storm the “first Space War.”

According to SpOC historian, Christopher Rumley, “Desert Storm ushered in a paradigm shift toward Joint Force space-enabled warfighting. The shift also changed how we conduct training, led to space-minded acquisitions, and set us on a path which ultimately led to the creation of the USSF.”

Surely this pivotal moment in Space operations would have been hashtagged if social media was a thing back then. Or, maybe not, but for Space operators this opened an aperture for how Space assets could directly support the warfighter.

At that time (then) Capt Christopher Ayres was the deputy crew commander in the Space Surveillance Center, under U.S. Space Command. In this role Ayres worked with the Missile Warning Center to ensure proper reporting of space and missile launches.

“Missile Warning was key back in Desert Storm, specifically in protecting Americans and our allies from Scud missile attacks,” confirmed Ayres. “Additionally, we supported GPS operations to optimize constellation for our GPS-guided munitions and maneuver forces.”

Ayres went on to serve more than 25 years, all as a space and missile operations officer. He commanded at multiple levels, including the 460th Operations Group -- Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) -- at Buckley Space Force Base (now under Space Delta 4), and the 91st Missile Wing – Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) -- at Minot Air Force Base. Impressively, he was the first Space operator to win the overall Air Force Lance P. Sijan Award for leadership, presented by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Ayres now serves as the technical director to the Deputy Commanding General for Operations at SpOC and continues to drive the advancement of space operations.

“[Space] is next domain that we must capitalize on from a diplomatic, economic, and military standpoint,” said Ayres. “U.S. dependence on space has only grown, and continues to grow, and underpins all instruments of national power. We expect to see an increase in the diversity, complexity, and quantity of threats in the coming years. Our capabilities and space governance must modernize to ensure the domain’s stability and security.”

And the 2000s

In the 2000s the dire need for Space assets started to grow and become more apparent to the military community at large. AFSPC reorganized to add modern satellite systems and capabilities to their mission set and to provide greater situational awareness to Joint warfighters.

In the early 2000s (then) 1st Lt Melissa Ruff was at her first duty station, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, serving as a missileer – a deterrent layer in support of AFSPC. It was at that time the space and missiles career field split, and she transferred over to the space side as a satellite communications officer.

“We (missileers) brought a checklist discipline mentality,” said Ruff.  “But what Space needed from us was to develop our abilities to continue to think outside the box -- acceptability of not having a checklist for everything.” This change in thinking was a culture shift, but one that still resonates in today’s Space Force.

Ruff was not the first in her family to make a mark in the history of Space operations. Her father was also a “13S” space operator and pioneered the transition of The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) from AFSPC to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the activation of the 6th Space Operations Squadron as the Air Force Reserve unit backup to NOAA. Running for over 61 years, DMSP is the oldest continuously operated satellite program in the history of satellite operations “… and I remember visiting the 6 SOPS MOD when I was younger,” said Ruff.

The development of Space is generational, and so many SpOC veterans have the stories to prove it – it’s just too bad most of their stories are probably classified. Even today Guardians continue to quietly advance dominance in the Space domain without trending on your news feed.

So, even if the public doesn’t truly understand what goes on in the Space Force, one thing is for sure, SpOC will continue to prepare and sustain combat-ready space operations to protect Americans in, from, and to Space.  #IYKYK
 

 

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