Inside American Base Tracking Global Rockets Launches

There is a short cutting scream: “Launch Yemen!” Men and women in shape sit in front of computers, everyone responds to unison: “Copy, run Yemen.”

In American space forces, they are called guardians, not troops. Looking at their screens at the base of Denver, Colorado, they can track the launch of rockets from anywhere – and follow it from its running to its likely exposure point.

We are the first international journalists who have been allowed in the missile warning and tracking US operating operation in Buckley Space Base, the nervous center where the guardians will write 24/7.

They are surrounded by giant monitors that provide cards and data sent from the constellation of military satellites in space.

These guardians first found an infrared thermal signature when launching a rocket. In moments there is another cry – “Running Iran” – followed by the choir “Copy Start Iran”.

This time this drill. But last month they did this by truly – if Iran fired a volley rockets towards US military base in al-Dideda in QatarIn response to us, Israeli strikes on Iran.

Colonel Anne Hughes describes the mood on this day as “heavy”. Unlike most launches, they were warned in advance. They were able to track these Iranian missiles and then submit this information in the air defense battery.

“In the end, we kept the whole installation and the staff there,” she says, expressing relief.

Kol Hughes says that in recent years they have been exclusively occupied and the wars were raging both in the Middle East and in Europe.

When I ask her if they give warnings to Ukraine, Kal Hughes says: “We offer strategic and tactical missile warnings to all of us and allied forces.” The United States will not publicly confirm this, but they probably could also give Kiev head if he was going to get under the Russian attack.

Bakley Space Base forms the key part of President Donald Trump’s plans for US missile defense shields known as a “golden dome”.

It allocated $ 175 billion (130 billion pounds) for the ambitious program – inspired by the Israeli air defense system. Many believe it will cost much more.

But the basics are already in Bakley. On it the horizon is dominated by massive, round covers that protect powerful satellite dishes inside. They look like giant golf balls on the horizon. These satellite arrays have discovered radio frequency waves of Supernova 11000 light years.

Lieutenant General David Miller, commander of the US Space Operations Command, says the development of the golden dome, in the early days, is a recognition of an increase in threats to the US Motherland.

It specifically mentions China and Russia.

Both have developed hypersonic missiles that can travel more than five times the sound speed. Both experienced fractional orbital bombing systems that are more difficult to track.

“Speed and physics related to interception requires consideration of space interceptors,” says General Miller. He prefers to talk about “opportunities” to protect the interests of America rather than weapons in space.

The creation of US space forces five years ago is proof that space is now a warning. President Trump has launched power at his first termDescribing space as “the world’s newest area”.

Both China and Russia have tested anti -entertainment missiles, as well as ways of freezing their communication.

General Miller says that Russia “demonstrated the possibility of potentially putting a nuclear use of space into space. He says cosmos is already an area”, which is very challenged, “adding that” we should also be prepared for conflicts in space. “

Colonel Phoenix Hauser oversees the space forces of intelligence, observation and intelligence known as Delta 7. Their task is to find out what’s going on in space.

On their base near Colorado -the spring team tracks screens showing thousands of small points worldwide. About 12,000 satellites are already in space. By the end of the decade, which can grow up to 60,000.

Kol Hauser says their focus is on China. “It’s a threat of walking,” she says. There are already about a thousand satellites in China, half of their military. Over the next decade, Kol Hauser states that it will have tens of thousands more in the low orbit of Earth. The space is increasingly overwhelmed and challenged.

“We are already sparring in space,” she says. “We see close non -professional and dangerous interactions with our opponents.” These include satellites equipped with electronic silence, lasers and even networks and grips that can be used to move another satellite.

Some of them suggested that space already has “dog fighting”.

“I do not know that we are completely there in the type of pistol, as a prospect of fighting dogs,” says Colonel Hauser. “But it is definitely a ready to be prepared.”

The US space power is preparing for the possibility of a conflict in space. Kol Juser says that a year ago they “could not talk about the offensive capabilities.” She now says their attention is “to create options for the president so that we can get and maintain the preference for the offensive and defensive control of space.”

General Miller says the only way to prevent conflict is “through strength and we must have our own capabilities to protect our assets.” It won’t be in detail what it definitely means.

But recent American strikes under Iran’s nuclear programMidnight Hammer’s operation gives an idea of what US cosmic forces can already do. These B-2 bombers also emphasize why the domestic domination remains decisive for US troops.

“You need to understand how much the United States is the advantage we will get out of space,” says General Miller. This includes the ability to move and chat on the horizon and provide accurate blows with GPS.

The BBC received the first information on how the guardians of space forces participated in the operation.

“One of the things we did was the use of an electromagnetic warfare to ensure domination throughout the operation,” Gen Miller says. The electromagnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwave, infrared and visible light.

“We knew that the environment would be killed,” he says. The US space powers guaranteed that the silence was denied that the US B-2 bombers could come to their goal and provide massive bombs that managed the GPS guided by massive tips.

Electronic war specialists with Delta Space Force 3 have already acted on the ground in the region.

Their commander, Colonel Angelo Fernandez, shows me the ranks of satellite dishes and team containers that they can fly at anywhere in the world.

Dishes, he said, can be used to intercept and then silence the enemy’s forces, “noise translation louder.”

“They were able to defend US assets and open the corridor’s flight at the same time,” he says.

Before, during and after the mission, the US space forces Delta 7 provided Overwatch.

Colonel Phoenix Hauser says they were able to monitor the electromagnetic spectrum “to understand whether Iran knows what is happening, whether they have some tactical warning that strikes can happen.” They helped keep the element of surprise and allowed the air crew to complete the mission unnoticed.

US space powers can become the youngest military service, but it is important for military forces in America. General Miller says the entire US military is “dependent on the preference of space.”

He wants to make sure that remains like that. And he has a warning for any enemy.

“If the US military focuses on something – God will help you!”