The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC)/U.S. Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) is the Army Service Component Command to the U.S. Strategic Command. SMDC/ARSTRAT missions are global in nature and include space operations, information operations, global strike, integrated missile defense and C4ISR (command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).

Building on more than 40 years of achievement and progress in the space and missile defense arena, SMDC/ARSTRAT will continue to support these crucial missions in the 21st century. From its headquarters in Arlington, Va., SMDC/ARSTRAT oversees a number of Army elements around the globe to accomplish its challenging and diverse mission:

• The 1st Space Brigade (Provisional) in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the Army’s first and only space brigade. Elements of the brigade’s three battalions deployed to Iraq and the surrounding theater in support of Marine Expeditionary Force 1, V Corps and Central Command. 1st Space Brigade conducts continuous, global space support, space superiority and space force enhancement operations in support of the U.S. Strategic Command and supported combatant commanders enabling the delivery of decisive combat power.  Space and BMD Forces

• The 1st Satellite Control Battalion in Colorado Springs, Colo., provides worldwide satellite communications to the warfighter through the Defense Satellite Communications System. The 1st Space Battalion’s Theater Missile Warning Company uses Joint Tactical Ground Stations to provide combatant commanders with the only in-theater tactical ballistic missile warning capability on the battlefield. The battalion’s Army Space Support Company provides units deploying on exercises and contingency and humanitarian operations with intelligence, planning, and operational expertise and products. The 193rd Space Battalion, Colorado Army National Guard, also includes Army Space Support Teams that provide valuable space assets to deployed forces. SMDC/ARSTRAT-Space and BMD Forces also manages the Army’s astronaut  detachment at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.

• The TRADOC System Manager (TSM) for Ground-based Midcourse Defense (TSM GMD) in Arlington, Va., and Huntsville, Ala., integrates and manages GMD user activities within the Army. It serves as a single Army user representative and advocate in the development of the land-based GMD system.

• The Force Development and Integration Center (FDIC) in Arlington, Va., develops the Army’s space and missile defense concepts, validates requirements, and ensures Army-wide solution integration.

• The Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC) in Huntsville, Ala., is the research and development element of the command. The center executes directed energy, space, and missile defense research and development programs. As executive agent for DoD’s Missile Defense Agency, the center provides cost, schedule, and technical oversight for missile defense technology, and provides technical matrix support to the Program Executive Office, Air, Space, and Missile Defense.

• The Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab (SMDBL) in Huntsville, Ala., and Colorado Springs, Colo., delivers innovations to the warfighter in the areas of Space, Missile Defense, Information Operations, C4ISR, and Global Strike. Areas of expertise include Space Experimentation, Missile Defense Experimentation, Information Operations and C4ISR Experimentation, Modeling and Simulations and High Performance Computational facilities, and Military Studies and Analysis.

• The Office of Technical Integration and Interoperability (OTII) in Huntsville, Ala., integrates technical and operational requirements with materiel developers, improves interoperability for our Joint and Coalition warfighters, and advances Space and Integrated Air and Missile Defense.


• The Space and Missile DefenseTest and Evaluation Center (SMDT&E) in Huntsville, Ala., centralizes the command’s materiel development, targets, and test facility management into one overarching organization that includes the following facilities and program offices:

– The High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF) at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., serves as a national center for high-energy laser research, development, testing, and evaluation. It is the only laser facility capable of placing continuous wave megawatt laser light on a variety of targets.

– The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site’s unique geographical location in the central Pacific with an unmatched suite of radars, instrumentation, and test support facilities offers extensive flexibility for ballistic missile testing and space-object tracking.

The command ensures Army warfighters have access to space assets and products to win decisively with minimum casualties and effective missile defense to protect our nation, as well as our deployed forces and those of our friends and allies.

History
On Oct. 1, 1997, the Department of the Army created its newest major command – the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC/ARSTRAT). Composed of five primary components, the SMDC/ARSTRAT is a global organization. These components are the SMDC/ARSTRAT Headquarters and the Force Development Integration Center in Arlington, Va.; the U.S. Army Space Command (Forward) located in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and, the Space and Missile Defense  Technical Center (SMDTC), the Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab (SMDBL) and the Space and Missile Defense Acquisition Center (SMDAC) based in Huntsville, Ala. Included in the SMDAC are the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF), at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Kwajalein Missile Range (USAKA/KMR), in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Army Space Program Office (ASPO) in Alexandria, Va., and the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensors Project Office (JLENS) and the Ballistic Missile Targets Joint Project Office (BMTJPO) which are both in Huntsville.

The SMDC/ARSTRAT commander is a dual-hatted leader. In addition to the duties of SMDC/ARSTRAT commander, he also serves as the commander of the U.S. Army Space Command (ARSPACE). The creation of the new major command and its organization are designed to align the command to reflect the importance of space and missile defense to the Army and the joint warfighter. The basic missions of the command are twofold. The SMDC/ARSTRAT ensures that the soldier in the field has access to space assets and their products. The command also seeks to provide effective missile defense for the nation and deployed forces.

Although a new organization, the SMDC/ARSTRAT is building on more than 40 years of achievement and progress in the space and missile defense arena. The command began in 1957, when the Army created the first program office for ballistic missile defense. With the Nike-Zeus, the Army explored the feasibility of nuclear intercepts of inter-continental missiles. On July 19, 1962, the command made history with the first successful intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile. This feat was repeated at the next level in 1984, when the Homing Overly Experiment performed the first non-nuclear, kinetic-kill intercept of a reentry vehicle, proving it was possible to hit a "bullet with a bullet."

In 1967, having proved the interceptor’s capabilities, the command moved toward the next phase – deployment – with the Sentinel defense system. Redirected in 1969, the program was assigned to defend of the U.S. land-based ICBM's. On Oct. 1, 1975, the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex in North Dakota became operational. Congress inactivated the site almost immediately, because of concerns over the budget and the influence of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

President Ronald Reagan announced a new approach to strategic planning, the Strategic Defense Initiative, in March 1983. This concept urged an active defense rather than the traditional offensive deterrence. To address this change, elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization were merged in July 1985, creating the U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command (USASDC). At the same time, efforts by the command expanded to incorporate new avenues of research. In addition to radars and interceptors, the USASDC expanded its exploration of anti-satellite systems, lasers, neutral particle beams and innovative sensors.

With the new decade, the command began to move in new directions. In October 1990, as part of an effort to centralize laser research, the HELSTF transferred to the command from the Army Materiel Command. The USASDC mission was further enhanced in January 1991, when the command was assigned all Theater Missile Defense functions and again in June 1994, the USASSDC commanding general was made the Theater Missile Defense advocate.

In 1992, the Army reorganized the USASDC to focus elements upon specific needs and missions. As part of this decision, several missile and radar projects were transferred from the USASDC to the newly created Program Executive Office for Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (subsequently renamed Air and Missile Defense). Among the projects leaving the command were the Ground Based Interceptor, the High Endoatmospheric Defense Interceptor, the Theater High Altitude Area Defense, the Extended Range Interceptor (which became the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor), the ARROW, and the Ground Based Radar. The Program Executive Office was assigned the mission to develop and deploy viable national missile defense and theater missile defense systems.

The Army’s renewed interest in space technology was reflected in Department of the Army’s decision to create the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command (USASSDC), on Aug. 24, 1992. Under this directive, the Army Space Command became a subordinate command to the USASSDC. Other Army space interests were incorporated into the new organization in later years. The Army Space Technology Research Office transferred to the command in 1993, followed by the Army Space Program Office in 1994. Based on these changes and the years of experience, the USASSDC was named the Army's advocate for Space, Theater Missile Defense and National Missile Defense. As outlined the General Order, dated July 1, 1993, the USASSDC was to serve as the "focal point for space and strategic defense matters, … responsible for [the] exploitation of space and strategic assets for use by warfighting [Commanders in Chief]."

With this consolidated approach, the Army had teamed up all of its space related organizations. Since 1973, the Army Space Program Office has overseen the tactical exploitation of national capabilities program, or TENCAP. The TENCAP program seeks to assess the tactical potential of current abilities and integrate them into the Army system. The Army Space Technology Research Office, established in 1988, managed near and possible far-term space R&D programs. It became the core of the new Space Applications Technology Program. The Army Space Command, created in 1986, serves as the Army component of the U.S. Space Command and is responsible for operational space planning. This command also oversees the Defense Satellite Communications System Operations Centers and the Army Space Demonstration Program, which explores the feasibility of off-the–shelf technology in the space program. One successful example of this effort is the small lightweight Global Positioning System receiver (commonly called the "slugger") used during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

It is with this substantial background that the SMDC/ARSTRAT advances the Army’s space and missile defense efforts towards the 21^st century.

 SMDC History - The Early Years

SMDC History - The Non-Nuclear Approach

SMDC History - The New Frontiers

 MDA Historical Page