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and provide that data to the
Cheyenne Mountain Space Surveillance Center located in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The detachment consisted of a Transportable Optical System (TOS) and a large signal detection dish antenna. The TOS, developed by Sandia National Laboratories, was a high resolution telescope used to detect visible light reflected off orbiting objects, while the large receiver dish passively received transmission signals from orbiting satellites. These two operations together were called the Combined Radio Frequency/Optical Space Surveillance (CROSS) system.
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confirm its current/planned flight path could cause mission failure. In an effort to find the probe, NASA sent out a call for help to United States Space
Command, asking the military to use its space surveillance network to try to find the satellite. Once found, NASA could point their commanding antennas to the proper location and reacquire the satellite to ensure successful mission continuation. Communication from Space Command to its subordinate units requested support from any sensors in the network that could potentially track the probe.
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custom search patterns with the telescope. As
Galileo was "lost", and current positional data was unavailable, a special search would be necessary to see if the probe could be found. One of the detachments members volunteered to attempt to find the satellite via one of these custom searches. The search pattern successfully acquired the satellite, and TOS was the first space surveillance system to provide the positional data to Space Command for relay to NASA, who reacquired the probe.
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371:. In December 2006, UNHRD began using the facility as a simulation-based training center for its logistics officers, as well as logistics personnel of other humanitarian organizations. As of 2013, UNHRD also expanded its warehouses and premises in this facility in addition to its original assets in Brindisi Military Airport.
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December 1990 was an important time in the history of the TOS. The
Galileo probe (launched October 1989) was scheduled for a flyby of Earth before proceeding with its mission, but NASA was having trouble acquiring the satellite to verify/correct its position. Failure to command the satellite and/or
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In 1990, Air Force Space
Command established a tenant unit at San Vito Air Station. Detachment 1, 73rd Space Surveillance Group was a deep space surveillance mission whose job was to search for earth-orbiting objects, generate positional (Element Set) data to identify the objects location in space,
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The 6917th
Electronic Security Group and 7275 Air Base Group were stationed on San Vito. The US Navy also played a large part in the interception and decoding of intelligence and High Frequency Directional Finding. The base also hosted a small U.S. Army 9-man radio direction finding detachment
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Though the TOS system was not considered "operational" yet, the telescope and its operating system were sufficiently matured to track space objects and provide
Element Set data to the space surveillance network if requested. The system had a unique function of allowing its operators to develop
352:. In 2000, the facility was once again closed. The landmark FLR-9 antenna array was disassembled. In 2003, the base reverted to Italian government ownership. The remaining parts of the base (around 80%) were left unoccupied and abandoned. A proposal for reuse by the
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AN/FLR-9 information with story of site construction at San Vito Dei
Normanni Air Station on FAS.org
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in 1960. It became a primary installation on 1 March 1961, operated since its activation by the
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In 1994, the base's mission was withdrawn, however, it reopened later that decade to support
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435:"La ex base militare Usaf di San Vito dei Normanni abbandonata da 18 anni"
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Satellite view of former FLR-9 site at San Vito dei
Normanni AS, Italy
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Since then, the
Italian government donated parts of the base to the
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monitoring/receiving system of a large circular antenna array for
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United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi
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reporting to the 600th USASA Company in Vicenza, Italy.
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On 1 October 1979, the base reverted to HQ Sixteenth AF
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United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
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1990 - Air Force Space Command establishes tenant unit
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with support personnel and equipment furnished by the
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receiving system was operational until October 1994.
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Military installations of the United States in Italy
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
470:Free site for former personnel and family at SVAS.
365:United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD)
356:for its university campus has not been executed.
348:followed shortly thereafter by operations in the
485:Detailed Station history on globalsecurity.org
234:facility located 7 miles (11 km) west of
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823:United States Air Force Mediterranean Bases
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443:(in Italian). 15 July 2011. Archived from
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361:United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
276:United States Air Force Security Service
1045:Stations of the United States Air Force
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302:1979 - 6917th Electronic Security Group
282:1964 - High frequency monitoring array
1055:Military installations closed in 2000
7:
490:Photogallery of air station, in 2006
44:adding citations to reliable sources
410:"San Vito dei Normanni Air Station"
161:
55:"San Vito dei Normanni Air Station"
1007:United States Air Forces in Europe
390:List of US military bases in Italy
385:United States Air Forces in Europe
128:United States Air Forces in Europe
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228:San Vito dei Normanni Air Station
121:San Vito dei Normanni Air Station
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294:purposes was installed. This
767:406th Air Expeditionary Wing
440:La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno
367:in the military section of
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323:1990 - Finding a satellite
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777:501st Combat Support Wing
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762:100th Air Refueling Wing
336:1994 - Mission withdrawn
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666:Kleine Brogel Air Base
641:Câmpia Turzii Air Base
1021:Strategic Air Command
843:Seventeenth Air Force
354:University of Salento
264:7275th Air Base Group
258:1960 - Base activated
248:San Vito dei Normanni
202:40.64611°N 17.84028°E
138:San Vito dei Normanni
980:(Bosnia-Herzegovina)
610:Spangdahlem Air Base
272:6900th Security Wing
40:improve this article
854:4310th Air Division
848:7217th Air Division
837:Sixteenth Air Force
447:on 8 September 2012
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742:39th Air Base Wing
619:Support facilities
414:GlobalSecurity.org
344:operations in the
207:40.64611; 17.84028
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651:Chièvres Air Base
646:Chabelley Airport
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590:Incirlik Air Base
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262:Staffed by the
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57: –
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51:Find sources:
45:
41:
35:
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29:This article
27:
23:
18:
17:
1016:
1005:Part of the
971:Sidi Slimane
969:
955:
935:
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852:
835:
696:RAF Fairford
686:RAF Akrotiri
449:. Retrieved
445:the original
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417:. Retrieved
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38:Please help
33:verification
30:
899:Izmir/Cigli
730:Major units
711:RAF Welford
671:Lajes Field
346:Bosnian War
286:In 1964, a
213:San Vito AS
205: /
192:017°50′25″E
180:Coordinates
168:San Vito AS
1039:Categories
1017:in italics
944:Hellenikon
929:Ben Guerir
548:Air Forces
396:References
350:Kosovo War
278:(USAFSS).
211: (
189:40°38′46″N
66:newspapers
973:(Morocco)
959:(Morocco)
957:Nouasseur
939:(Morocco)
931:(Morocco)
96:July 2023
1019:Part of
1009:(USAFE)
990:Zaragoza
964:Torrejón
952:(Greece)
950:Iraklion
946:(Greece)
937:Boulhaut
911:San Vito
901:(Turkey)
895:(Turkey)
893:Incirlik
880:(Cyprus)
878:Akrotiri
379:See also
296:AN/FLR-9
236:Brindisi
126:Part of
992:(Spain)
986:(Libya)
984:Wheelus
966:(Spain)
913:(Italy)
907:(Spain)
889:(Italy)
829:Command
451:20 July
419:3 April
308:(USAFE)
130:(USAFE)
80:scholar
921:Former
887:Aviano
871:Active
292:COMINT
240:Apulia
230:was a
82:
75:
68:
61:
53:
978:Tuzla
905:Morón
864:Bases
578:Bases
252:Italy
142:Italy
87:JSTOR
73:books
453:2011
421:2017
342:NATO
59:news
42:by
1041::
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288:HF
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103:(
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94:(
84:·
77:·
70:·
63:·
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
