Air Force Satellite Control Network - Closed Remote Tracking Stations

Closed Remote Tracking Stations

  • Indian Ocean Station (IOS), Mahe Island, Seychelles; callsign INDI (closed in August 1996, after the government of the Seychelles attempted to "raise the rent" to more than $10 million/year). The Indian Ocean Tracking Station was located on Mahe in the Seychelle Islands. It only had one 60 foot antenna. Its location was ideal for communicating with geosynchronous satellites over the Indian Ocean. The station was also geographically suited for acquiring realtime or near-realtime data from passes over areas to the north. In 1980, due to political instabilities of the island, the main processing computers were removed and relocated to Sunnyvale. These computers communicated with the IOS downlink and tracking equipment via a wideband (DSCS) communications link. IOS has been supplanted by Diego Garcia RTS.
  • Kodiak Tracking Station (KTS), Kodiak Island, Alaska; callsign KODI (closed on 20 March 1975)
  • Sunnyvale Control Station, callsign CUBE. Not a true tracking station, in that it had no direct downlink antenna. Instead, CUBE supported operations at TCS/Oakhangar and IOS/Seychelles, where main processing computers could not be located. CUBE had two 'sides', and so could support two satellite passes simultaneously.
  • Colorado Tracking Station (CTS), Schriever AFB, Colorado; callsign PIKE (decommissioned on 2 August 2012)

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