10th Space Operations Squadron

The 10th Space Operations Squadron (10 SOPS) is the United States Space Force unit responsible for operating the Mobile User Objective System and Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On satellite constellations, providing global communications to the United States Armed Forces.^[1][2]

10th Space Operations Squadron
Squadron emblem
Active	1962–present[1]
Country	United States
Branch	United States Space Force
Role	Satellite communications
Part of	Space Delta 8
Headquarters	Point Mugu, California, U.S.
Commanders
Commander	Lt Col Jason Sanders
Insignia
Naval Satellite Operations Center (1990–2022)
Navy Astronautics Group (1962–1990)

History

Navy (1962–2022)

See also: Naval Space Command and United States Tenth Fleet

Navy Working Uniform "Type III" unit shoulder patch featuring the NAG emblem elements: Ursa Major and Polaris as a reference to celestial navigation and a stylized satellite orbiting Earth. Also shown are Laguna Peak and Mugu Rock.

The first military space operations command in history,^[3] the Navy Astronautics Group (e or NAG) was established on May 22, 1962 under the command of CDR J.C. Quillen, Jr.^[4] Tasked with operating the Navy's satellites, the unit commanded the Navy Navigational Satellite System, also known as Transit, the world's first satellite navigation system.^[5] The Navy Astronautics Group was redesignated as the Naval Satellite Operations Center (NAVSOC) in June 1990.

Space Force (2022-present)

Lt Gen Stephen Whiting and VADM Ross Myers at the joint NAVSOC/10 SOPS ceremony on 6 June 2022.

In September 2021, it was announced that NAVSOC would be transferred from the Navy to the newly-independent US Space Force under Space Delta 8.^[6][7][8] On 6 June 2022, NAVSOC was formally disestablished and 10 SOPS assumed its mission, personnel, resources, and heritage in total.^[9] According to Space Delta 8, the squadron was given its number to honor its heritage under 10th Fleet.^[10]

Constellations

The unit has operated various types of military satellites, including:

Constellation	Abbreviation	First launch	Purpose
Transit	NAVSAT or NNSS	1959	Navigation
Fleet Satellite Communications System	FLTSATCOM or FLTSAT	1978	Communication
Geodetic Satellite[3]	GEOSAT	1985	Earth observation
Ultra High Frequency Follow-On	UFO	1993	Communication
Geodetic Satellite Follow-On[11]	GFO	1998	Earth observation
Mobile User Objective System	MUOS	2012	Communication

Command Structure

• Headquarters, Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, California
  • Detachment A, Prospect Harbor, Maine
  • Detachment C, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Dededo, Guam
  • Detachment D, Schriever SFB, El Paso County, Colorado

Former site:

• Detachment B, Rosemount, Minnesota (disestablished August 1997)

List of commanders

• Lt Col Jason Sanders, 6 June 2022