STSS Move Complete

The Space Tracking and Surveillance System program office has officially moved from Los Angeles Air Force Base, CA, to the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center in Colorado Springs, according to a June 1 Missile Defense Agency statement.

The transfer ceremony took place on May 25, "which also highlighted the renaming of the Missile Defense Space Experimentation Center to the Space Development Center," the MDA statement reads. Further:

The ceremony opened with remarks by Dr. James E. Armstrong, MDA CIO and Deputy Director of the MDIOC, who recognized this milestone, the latest in a long history of MDA integration at the MDIOC. "We are excited about the movement of MDA's STSS Program Office to this facility, and we will do our best to ensure they are successful," Armstrong said.

The presiding officer of the ceremony, Mr. Rich Ritter, Program Executive for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), also recognized the importance of this transition. Referring to the ceremony as a "graduation" of sorts, he stated the move would increase the number of demonstrations and tests. He further highlighted the growing importance of space assets to missile defense.

The outgoing STSS leader, Colonel Select Matthew P. Murdough, commented on his years with the program, thanking his staff and wishing the new leadership good luck before taking part in the traditional flag transfer ceremony. After the symbolic passing of the unit flag from outgoing to incoming leader, Dennis Miller, the MDSDC Director expressed his thanks. "The journey is not finished," he said. "We look forward to the next steps of the program."

The ceremony concluded with Mr. Ritter unveiling the new name and logo for the Missile Defense Space Development Center. The MDSDC, led by Dennis Miller, is now responsible for operational control of the STSS Demonstrator satellites and the Near Field Infrared Experiment Satellite.

STSS is a key component in MDA's development of a space-based sensor layer to detect missile launches, provide continuous target tracking, and pass track data to missile interceptors with the accuracy and timeliness necessary to enable successful target interception. The seamless administrative transfer will not affect current satellite operations.