By: Maj Cody Gibson

Artist’s illustration of Europa Clipper spacecraft flying above Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. (NASA image by JPL-Caltech)

 Asteroid Bennu Sample Mission

Over the past two years, the Space Command Logistics and Engineering (J4) Operations Branch has supported four critical movements that have enhanced space operations abroad.

Size of the Bennu asteroid as compared to the Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building. (Image courtesy of NASA)

In September of 2023, the Space Deployment & Distribution Operation Center (SDDOC) directly supported the first-ever asteroid sample mission, coordinating a Special Airlift Assignment Mission (SAAM) with US Transportation Command to move the Bennu Asteroid samples from Utah to Ellington Airport, Texas.  The samples were collected in 2020 and departed the asteroid in October 2020, traveling 1.2 billion miles to return to earth in September 2023. This was the first time in US history that we’ve returned an asteroid sample to earth. The major significance of the operation gives understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system and how life originated on earth based on the molecules contained within the asteroid.

“Asteroids provide a time capsule into our home planet’s history, and Bennu’s samples are pivotal in our understanding of what ingredients in our solar system existed before life started on Earth.” – Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA.

Additionally, the SDDOC supported NASA with transport of the Europa Clipper, NASA’s largest spacecraft developed for a planetary mission, from March Air Reserve Base, to the Kennedy Space Center, in May 2024. The robotic solar-powered spacecraft departed into orbit on October 14, 2024, with the first fly-bys of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, planned in the spring of 2031.

Europa Clipper, NASA’s largest spacecraft, began its orbit journey in October 2024.

Recovery teams participate in field rehearsals to prepare for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range on Aug. 29, 2023. (NASA image via AP by Keegan Barber)

AN/TYP-2 Radar Deployment

Among SDDOC’s most critical missions was its support to USSPACECOM and the DoD through the deployment of an AN/TYP-2 radar in May 2023, and subsequent redeployment in August 2023, which ensured continuous missile warning and missile defense capabilities. The USSPACECOM J4 Engineering team established a concrete pad at one location to deploy the AN/TYP-2 system, and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense and in close coordination with USSTRANSCOM, 13 C-17 Globemaster IIIs moved personnel and equipment into the USEUCOM theater efficiently.

C-17 Globemaster IIIs played a key role in the radar deployment mission.

On August 20, 2024, the USSPACECOM SDDOC supported 4th Space Operations Squadron, Space Delta 8, with the deployment of 18 personnel and 31.2 tons of equipment to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam to test a Mobile Constellation Control System (MCCS) as part of a contingency operations exercise. This capability’s primary mission is to conduct Survivable/Endurable (S/E) Satellite Command and Control (SATC2) of the MILSTAR- Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Constellation. The Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (MILSTAR)-Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Constellation is a military communications satellite that provides secure and jam-resistant worldwide communications. The AEHF System is the follow-on to the MILSTAR system, augmenting the capabilities of MILSTAR, and expanding the Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) architecture. The AEHF system consists of satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit that provides 10 times the throughput of the 1990s-era MILSTAR satellites with a substantial increase in coverage for users. This is a key enabling function for Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3), ensuring mission-essential operations for the national military command system’s Survivable Mobile Command Centers (SMCCs) during the pre-, trans-, and post-attack phases of nuclear conflict.

Secondary Mission of MCCS

The secondary mission is to provide an Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) SATC2 capability for the MILSTAR-AEHF constellation. Satellite Command and Control (SATC2) is the ability to connect to a space asset, observe real time and historical events, and schedule onboard operations due to limitations in fixed SATC2 architecture, a Contested, Degraded, and Operationally limited (CDO) space domain  could result in a fragmentation of MILSTAR-AEHF constellation results in one or more satellites becoming degraded or isolated, preventing SATC2 from the Continental United States command centers.

The MCCS can be airlifted into a theater affected by a degraded or isolated payload. Once in theater, it has the organic capability to enable continuous access to the payload for users in order to support intra-theater communications for the affected combatant command.

Moreover, the MCCS enables USSPACECOM to gather engineering data on the affected satellite in order to assist in reconstitution of the MILSTAR-AEHF system. The system was successfully airlifted from Colorado Springs to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and confirmed that a connection to a satellite within the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility through our mobile antenna could be accomplished representing significant progress toward future operational goals.

Evolving Military

In today’s complex and rapidly evolving military landscape, reliable and secure communications are necessary. The MCCS plays a crucial role in providing the linkages that enable military units to maintain contact with command centers and intelligence gathering systems.

USAF Airmen and Space Force Guardians load a Mobile Constellation Control Station aboard a C-17 at Peterson Space Force Base on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. The unit is being transported to an operating location as part of the 4th Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Space Force Base’s multi-day operation to provide proof of concept for missions outside of the United States returning the MCCS to Schriever Space Force Base. (US Space Force photo by Tiana Williams)

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. 

About the Author

Maj Cody Gibson is the Deputy Chief, Logistics Operations Branch, J4 in United States Space Command (USSPACECOM). He earned his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps and is a graduate of the University of New Mexico in May 2012. He has held various base-level positions as Logistics Readiness Squadron Operations Officer, Materiel Management Flight Commander, Vehicle Management, and Fuels Management, as well as Group and Wing-level Executive Officer positions. Maj Gibson has deployed in support of Operation FREEDOM SENTINEL and the Resolute Support Mission. Prior to his current position, he served as Class III Staff Officer J4, NATO Force Integration Unit Poland. Maj Gibson can be contacted at cody.gibson.2@usspacecom.mil