Naval Space Command
It was headquartered at Dahlgren, Virginia, and began operations on 1 October 1985.[3] In the late 1950s the United States Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard Minitrack system used electronic signals emitted by Sputnik and other satellites to characterize their orbits, serving as one of the first methods of ground-based satellite tracking.Three transmitter sites in the network were located at Jordan Lake, Alabama, Lake Kickapoo, Texas, and Gila River, Arizona, while six receiver sites were located at Tattnall County, Georgia, Hawkinsville, Georgia, Silver Lake, Mississippi, Red River, Arkansas, Elephant Butte, New Mexico, and San Diego, California.Additionally, NSC had responsibility for operating U.S. Space Command's space surveillance networks, as well as providing space intelligence support to naval forces.These components include the former Naval Space Surveillance System (renamed the Air Force Space Surveillance System) and the responsibility for operating the Alternate Space Operations Center.