PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. –
Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan visited the National Space Defense Center and Air Force Space Command units Feb. 5 to discuss military space operations with DoD, National Reconnaissance Office and AFSPC leaders and to receive mission and training updates.
In addition to the NSDC, Shanahan also toured the 1st and 2nd Space Operations Squadrons at Schriever Air Force Base. He then visited the 4th Space Control Squadron at Peterson AFB.
“Space superiority is critical to our nation’s warfighting capability,” said General Jay Raymond, commander of the Air Force Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Force Space Component Command. “Today’s visit by Secretary Shanahan provided us a unique opportunity to showcase our Airmen and their critical missions.”
The NSDC is a partnership organization, strongly supported by both the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, that develops and improves U.S. ability to rapidly detect, warn, characterize, attribute and defend against threats to our nation's vital space systems. The NSDC directly supports space defense unity of effort and expands information sharing in space defense operations among the DoD, National Reconnaissance Office, and other interagency partners.
The NSDC recently transitioned to 24/7 operations on January 8, marking a significant step for the expanding, interagency team focused on protecting and defending the nation's critical space assets.
“We were honored to host Secretary Shanahan and we greatly appreciated the opportunity to reinforce the critical partnerships we’ve built with the intelligence community and our interagency partners,” added Raymond. “He was able to see first-hand how we’re improving our space situational awareness and expanding our space-based capabilities in this increasingly contested domain.”