7 SWS Guardian leads the way in space systems operations

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Blake Hoagland

In 1955, with visions of better detection and warning against Soviet missiles, many of the United States’ most talented minds were asked to develop, test, and field infrared  warning technologies at the speed and relevancy required to meet the emerging nuclear threat. 

 

It was a vision as vast as the operating altitudes of the early test platforms. The project named MiDAS, for Missile Defense Alarm System, realized just four years later, would expand into one of our most important national security programs. It would also highlight the significance of testing applied to space systems. 

 

Fast forward six and a half decades, and development of space technology continues to shape the future of our national security. To meet this need for robust space technology development, a first-ever Space Test Fundamentals Course was designed within the world-renowned United States Air Force Test Pilot School, which convened on Jan. 4, 2021. Out of 165 applicants, 15 were selected to attend this inaugural course. Of those 15 students, Space Delta 4 was proud to nominate 1st Lt. Emily Remeta, a mission commander from the 7th Space Warning Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, California.

 

The 7 SWS guards the Continental United States, Alaska, and Canada against Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles by detecting both sea-based launches, in-flight missiles and providing mid-course interceptor guidance to eliminate threats. Additionally, the 7 SWS radar tracks and surveils objects in low-earth orbit. The unit is a geographically separated unit of Space Delta 4, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado.

 

Remetta and her classmates completed the rigorous three-month program designed to develop their skills in test fundamentals, space science applications and advanced space system test and evaluation. In a ceremony at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 6, the pioneering first class of Space Test Fundamentals students graduated and will now return to their organizations to lead full-spectrum testing and evaluation of systems operating across the space enterprise.

 

The next Space Test Fundamentals course is scheduled to begin on May 24.