9th Space Division | |
|---|---|
 Phased array missile detection radar atRAF Fylingdales | |
| Active | 1949–1950, 1954–1958, 1961–1968, 1990–1991 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of aerospace defense units |
| Insignia | |
| 9th Space Division emblem(approved c. 4 September 1990)[1] |  |
| 9th Aerospace Defense Division emblem |  |
| 9th Air Division emblem |  |
The9th Space Division (9th SD) is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was withAir Force Space Command, being stationed atPatrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1991.
The organization has had several periods of activation over its lifetime. Initially established in April 1949 as the9th Air Division (Tactical) underFourteenth Air Force,Continental Air Command atPope Air Force Base, North Carolina, the command had no units assigned but was to act as a headquarters over tactical units. It was inactivated in August 1950.
It was redesignated9th Air Division (Defense) and reactivated in October 1954 byAir Defense Command (ADC) and assigned toWestern Air Defense Force (WADF) atGeiger Field, Washington, taking over control of air defense units in eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho from the25th Air Division (AD), after the 25th AD was realigned over the Washington and Oregon coastal area west of theCascade Mountains. It participated in the United States Air Force collateral mission of antisubmarine warfare and administered, equipped, and trained for combat. It was inactivated in 1958 when theSpokane Air Defense Sector was established by ADC to take over its responsibilities.[1]
The third incarnation of the organization began in 1961 with its reactivation as the9th Aerospace Defense Division was associated with theNorth American Aerospace Defense Command by ADC, assuming responsibility for theBallistic Missile Early Warning System, theMissile Defense Alarm System, theSpace Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS), the NORAD combat operations Center, theBomb Alarm System, and theNuclear Detonation System.[1]
During theCuban Missile Crisis, the division implemented an improvised missile warning system directed toward the missile threat from Cuba called "Falling Leaves." In October 1962, the SPADATSAN/FPS-49 radar atMoorestown Air Force Station, New Jersey was reoriented south and directed toward Cuba. A communication network was established with Moorestown, theAN/FPS-78 radar atLaredo Air Force Base, Texas and theAN/FPS-35 radar site atThomasville Air Force Station, Alabama. All three stations were in turn tied into the command centers at NORAD and atStrategic Air Command. This missile detection network remained in operation until 28 November and the Moorestown and Laredo sites were returned to their normal SPADATS mission when Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba. The Thomasville station, retained coverage until late December as a precaution.[2]
The division was inactivated in 1968 when its mission was elevated to a Numbered Air Force level, and transferred along with its personnel and equipment to theFourteenth Aerospace Force on 1 July.[1]
The most recent incarnation the9th Space Division began in 1990 whenAir Force Space Command (AFSPACECOM) reactivated the organization to provide an action mechanism to "operationalize" the space launch capabilities of Eastern Space and Missile Center (ESMC) and Western Space and Missile Center (WSMC) units transferred fromAir Force Systems Command to AFSPACECOM during 1990–1991. ESMC and WSMC became respectively the45th Space Wing and30th Space Wing within two months of the Division's inactivation in 1991.[1]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
