[2] It was first activated in 1961 as the 1st Aerospace Surveillance and Control Squadron as the SPACETRACK component of NORAD's Space Detection and Tracking System.

[3] The 1st Squadron performs launch and early-orbit operations for GPS and DSP systems including satellite activation, initial checkout and transfer to mission orbit.

It plans and executes tracking, telemetry and command functions for GPS, DSP, MXS and a NASA research and development satellite to maintain spacecraft state-of-health, sustain on-orbit operations and accomplish mission taskings.

They respond to all satellite emergencies, and support end-of-life testing and disposal operations for GPS, DSP and MSX and NASA research and development spacecraft as required.

[3] The squadron maintains DSP spacecraft positional knowledge and distributes data to worldwide users.

[1] Until April 1966, when operations were moved to the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex, The squadron was located on the bottom two floors of Ent Air Force Base building P4 Annex, a former hospital building, adjacent to the NORAD command center.

[8][1] The squadron was responsible for tracking all artificial earth satellites, space probes, carrier rockets, and debris, US and foreign.

The mission included detecting additional objects previously unknown and maintaining a complete catalogue.

[8] By mid-1969, three USAF Baker-Nunn cameras were operated in support of SPACETRACK under the 18th Surveillance Squadron, despite questions about their on-going utility in view of increasing radar tracking accuracies.

Using a new program, (Satellite General Perturbations Differential Corrections) and observations from the radar at Shemya Air Force Station, the orbital analyst plotted the changing orbital period and was able to predict the exact revolution on which the satellite reentered the atmosphere.

[c] To make progress in automating ephemeris forecasts, Aeronutronic and TRW Inc. developed sophisticated new programs.

Spiral Decay was considered a more sophisticated program than ESPOD and used less computer time to attain more accurate results.

It was also adopted as the primary computer capability for weapon engagement and was useful in more precisely locating sensors, such at the radar at Dyarbakir Air Station, Turkey.

[14] On 1 March 1965, the rocket body of Kosmos 61 exploded between revolutions 1 and 2, giving 1st Aero another challenge to catalog the many fragments.

Two computer programs, SPACESWEEP and ALTEC, aided automation of the task but, when Cosmos 200 broke up on 23 January 1968, the breakup created severe problems for the Space Defense Center because of the amount of manual work needed.

Project Space Track at Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts was the backup facility for squadron operations.

In plotting the observations made by the BMEWS radar at RAF Fylingdales, England, and other sensors the data showed an apparent change in the satellite's orbital period.

[19] It is now known that the satellite, called Polyot, was in fact a prototype orbital carrier rocket for an anti-satellite system.

By 1962,[21] initial observations were processed by the Report Association Program which ran automatically twice a day plus twice for BMEWS data.

After they completed their deployment, the MSTI-3 was controlled by Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) test & evaluation (Onizuka AS, CA and Kirtland AFB, NM; now Space Development and Test Wing, Kirtland AFB) until the satellite was successfully de-orbited on 11 December 1997.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency