us air force usaf (19 resultados)

Condición: acceptable. USED book in ACCEPTABLE condition. Cover and pages are in tact but may show creases, tears, water damage, handwriting, underlining, or highlighting. Supplemental items such as access codes and CDs not guaranteed.

Paperback. Condición: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Paperback. Condición: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.

Hardcover. Condición: Very Good. A unique collection of 32 test pilot and manufacturer photos (+10 duplicates) relating primarily to "F-15 Peace Sun" 1975-97. Colour and b/w @26x21cm with some variation, mostly Kodak Paper with printed or ms captions or blank to the backs. Presented in clear pockets in a gilt-titled blue Gulfstream Aerospace ringbinder with brass corners and ms spine label "F-15 Program / Data Aircraft" 27x30cm. Generally very good. "Peace Sun" was core to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) - USAF relationship. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 air superiority fighter entered service in 1976. RSAF ordered 60 in 1977. The sale was extremely sensitive domestically and in the Middle East. The Carter Administration committed to it on assurances the Saudis would not attack Israel with them. McDonnell Douglas began training Saudi personnel in 1980, formally heralded the roll-out in August 1981, and delivered in 1982-83 with capability degraded to a more defensive role. Thus in 1985 the CIA assessed RSAF's overall capacity as follows: "Although the Air Force is capable of defending Saudi Arabia against air attacks from Iran, North Yemen, and South Yemen, it cannot sustain high intensity combat against a major regional power such as Israel or Iraq. Nor will it be capable of operating effectively outside of Saudi Arabia in the near term. Facilities needed to support Saudi Air Force operations over Jordan, Iraq, or Syria are inadequate and vulnerable to Israeli airstrikes". Under subsequent Peace Sun phases, the RSAF ordered 12 in 1987 (delivered by 1992), separately received 24 from USAF European bases in 1990, and in 1991 ordered 72 (delivered mid-late 1990s). PHOTOS: The earliest feature Lt-Col Ed McDowell as a test pilot at Edwards AFB and apparently as a RSAF trainer at McDonnell Douglas. McDowell (1933-2025) joined USAF in 1958 and flew over 200 F-4 combat missions during the Vietnam War. Familiar with at least 16 different aircraft, he worked as an Experimental Test Pilot and trainer, joining McDonnell Douglas and Boeing in this capacity, and was the main test pilot for the Rockwell B-1 bomber. PHOTOS 1-3: at Edwards AFB show the B-1 Flight Crew including McDowell (AFFTC), Rockwell pilot Charlie Bock and others (1 Apr 76); McDowell and Bock disembarking the B-1 (13 Jun 75); and McDowell in front of the B-1 (c1975-76) // PHOTO 4: Uncaptioned but McDowell pictured centrally dining in canteen with colleagues, probably a Saudi group on the table behind, suggesting during training 1980-81 // PHOTOS 5-8: "Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 Roll-Out, McDonnell Douglas, St Louis Aug 81" (from banner and caption to verso). The event is in a hangar with F-15 in Saudi livery partially visible. McDowell is clearly identifiable in one. Another uncaptioned shows an exchange of documentation. // PHOTOS 9-10: a pair of uncaptioned group photos with large Saudi military and RSAF delegations and US military in front of a RSAF liveried F-15. One figure in traditional Saudi dress may be a Government official. They likely relate to training at McDonnell Douglas. // PHOTOS 11-24: a business suited Saudi delegation of 4 on a tour of the McDonnell Douglas facility, taking turns seated in a cockpit presumably an F-15, and group photos in front of a USAF-liveried F-15. Uncaptioned but possibly about contemporary with Photos 9-10. // PHOTOS 25-26: close-up views of an opened F-15 nose cone revealing its radar system (uncaptioned). // PHOTOS 27-31 (+10 Duplicates): 5 different images of unliveried F-15s taking off at McDonnell Douglas St Louis, printed captions to the backs, one painted in desert camouflage dated 6/95, the rest 7/95. // PHOTO 32: a crashed F-15 (lighter paper, uncaptioned). (References: Global Security website; CIA, "Saudi Air Force Modernization: The Emergence of a Regional Power - A Research Paper (Secret), May 1985 - Sanitized copy approved for release 2010/09/20"; McDowell's obituary, McCullough Funeral Home website).

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. 3rd Edition. USAF 1/1M chart colour printed to the recto 74x56cm, with supporting text, keys, index maps, and correction instructions to the verso. Very good, neatly folded, lightly tanned. This edition dates to the period of growing tensions over Suez, shortly before Egypt repealed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty (1936). First published in December 1948, this "3rd Edition Revised" contains air information current to June 1951 with a note stating "Minor changes on this edition do not obsolete previous 3rd Edition printing". The Nile runs approximately down the centre from the Aswan Prohibited Area in the south via the Luxor Control Zone to Al Minya in the north, just within the Cairo Control Area. The Western or Libyan Desert is shown to the west, including Dakhla and Karijah (Kharga) Oases, with settlements, dune belts, desert tracks and notes about terrain etc. To the east is part of the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea coast from the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula to Gebel Hamata. A small part of Saudi Arabia is shown to the NE with international border running through the Gulf of Aqaba, and note "Warning - Flying is prohibited over Saudi Arabian Cities". Altitude is colour shaded. Extensive physical and human geographical features are shown, and cultural sites including tombs and ruins. An abandoned railway is traced from the port of Bur Safajah stopping short of Qana on the Nile. This had been intended to transport phosphates from Kharga, but apparently was not completed. Aeronautical information includes aerodromes, airfields, navigation lights, radio facilities, airspace and radio range, restricted areas etc.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. 1st Edition. Colour printed paper map 74x58cm, with index map, keys and aeronautical data to the verso. Very good, neatly folded. This first GSGS edition dated 1953, was based on a USAF Pilotage Chart (1948, revised June 1952), with air information supplied by the Ministry of Defence as at November 1952, and reproduced by the Ordnance Survey in an edition of 5,000 in July 1953 (5,000/7/53). Centred on Syria and northern Jordan, coverage is bounded by Beirut (NW), and the Syria-Iraq, Jordan-Iraq, and Jordan-Saudi borders (E, SE). The Haifa branch of the Iraq Petroleum Company Pipeline including its Pumping Stations runs across the lower section almost parallel with the Syria-Jordan border. A significant section of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) which began operation in 1950 is also drawn. Altitude is colour shaded. Extensive detail is included for culture (built up areas, railways, roads, miscellaneous including oil), topography, hydrography, and aeronautical information.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. USAF 1/1M chart colour printed to the recto 74x56cm, with supporting text, keys, index maps, and correction instructions to the verso. Very good, neatly folded, lightly tanned with some light creasing. First published in March 1948, this 9th Edition dated February 1951 was issued on the brink of nationalisation of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, with air information current to November 1951. Coverage is bounded by the Iran-Iraq border (NW), Tehran towards the NE, Isfahan towards the SE, and the Tigris across the Iraqi border (SW). Other major settlements include Kermanshah, Hamadan and Dezful. Altitude is colour shaded. Extensive physical and human geographical features are shown, along with cultural sites. The Iranian State and Trans-Iranian Railways are shown with a hub at Tehran. Some of the stopping points along the former are marked as "abandoned". The latter, completed in 1939, became part of the Persian Corridor used by the Persian Gulf Command and Paiforce to supply the Soviet Union during 1942-45, and is shown here being extended further, with the section after Kashan labelled as "under construction".

No Binding. Condición: Good. 2nd Edition. Colour printed paper map 143x105cm. Good, neatly folded, rubbed to folds with creasing and foxing. Base information completed April 1960, revised October 1963, air information current through 22 November 1963, lithographed by ACIC 12-63. Roughly centred on Mecca, this is bounded by UAR Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia (W), the Rub al Khali (E), and Yemen (S). This Second Edition dates to the early stages of the North Yemen Civil War (26 Sep 1962-70), that saw the deposed Imam Badr escape into the mountains on the Saudi border to raise a force among the Zaydi and seek Saudi support. He was also supported by Jordan and Israel, with the Republicans supported by Nasser's Egypt. The Saudi-Yemen border is drawn here from the Red Sea coast as far as Najran, beyond which the line ends with a large area labelled "boundaries in this area are undetermined". Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes and about terrain (with straight line labelled "limits of reliable relief" and areas labelled "relief data incomplete"); international boundaries; settlements of various size; rail, roads and tracks, etc. Aeronautical information includes different types of aerodrome (several marked abandoned or not usable), vertical obstructions with heights, and Prohibited Areas over Saudi cities with related warnings.

No Binding. Condición: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Colour printed paper map 147x105cm. Near fine, neatly folded. Base information January 1959, lithographed by C.L. 3-60. Roughly centred on Aleppo and Deir ez Zor, coverage is bounded by Ankara (NW), Yerevan and the USSR border (NE), Kut (SE), and open Mediterranean Sea (SW) including all of Syria, Cyprus and Lebanon, and major parts of Turkey, Iraq and Israel. Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes about terrain, international boundaries including the Armistice Line, settlements of various size, rail, roads and tracks, oil pipelines, power lines etc. Aeronautical information includes different types of aerodrome, types of vertical obstruction with heights, air corridors with warning notices (Damacus, Aleppo and Baghdad especially are major hubs), and very many Prohibited, Danger, and Caution Areas around major cities, off strategic coastlines, along borders etc.

No Binding. Condición: Near Fine. 3rd Edition. Colour printed paper map 147x105cm. Near fine, neatly folded with some spotting. Base information completed April 1960, revised March 1967, air information current through 3 April 1967, lithographed by CPP 5-67. Roughly centred on Mecca, this is bounded by UAR Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia (W), the Rub al Khali (E), and Yemen (S). This Third Edition was issued during the North Yemen Civil War (1962-70) that saw the deposed Imam Badr escape into the mountains on the Saudi border to raise a force among the Zaydi and seek Saudi support. He was also supported by Jordan and Israel, with the Republicans supported by Nasser's Egypt. By 1967 Egypt was committing 130,000 troops to the conflict, which is believed to have contributed to its poor performance in the Six Day War in June. The Saudi-Yemen border is drawn here from the Red Sea coast as far as Najran, beyond which the line ends with a large area labelled "boundaries in this area are undetermined". Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes and about terrain (with straight line labelled "limits of reliable relief" and areas labelled "relief data incomplete"); international boundaries; settlements of various size; rail, roads and tracks, etc. Aeronautical information includes different types of aerodrome (several marked abandoned or not usable), vertical obstructions with heights, and Prohibited Areas over Saudi cities with related warnings.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. USAF 1/1M chart colour printed to the recto 74x56cm, with supporting text, keys, index maps, and correction instructions to the verso. Near fine, neatly folded. First published in August 1947, revised August 1958 with air information current to October 1958. This 11th Edition dates to a period of tremendous upheaval, including the Lebanon Crisis (July-Oct 1958) in which US forces occupied Beirut's international airport and port in support of President Chamoun; the aftermath of the Iraq Revolution (July 1958) which overthrew the pro-British monarchy and strained relations with the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC); the Jordan Crisis (July-Oct 1958) in which the US sent troops via Beirut to help the British quell the coup against King Hussein; the Cyprus Emergency (1955-59); and Syria (here named United Arab Republic) joined with Egypt as a step towards Arab unity. Cyprus is shown to the west with major air route over Nicosia, large Danger or Restricted Areas off its coasts, and part of Turkey to the north. The Mediterranean coast runs down the centre from Antioch to Jaffa with Israel and southern Lebanon marked as Prohibited except for an air corridor over Haifa to the Armistice Line, with the Demilitarised Zone to the east. Coverage stretches inland to Raqqah (NE) and Jordan's approximate boundaries with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Major stretches of both branches of the IPC Pipeline are shown, one along the southern edge to Haifa, the other centrally to Tripoli, with their pumping stations and landing grounds. The latter, with a "Danger Area" marked off the coast, sustained damage during the unrest in Lebanon. Key settlements include Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Nicosia, etc, with associated air corridors, Danger, Restricted, and Prohibited Areas. Altitude is colour shaded. Extensive physical and human geographical features are shown, including infrastructure, cultural sites, and notes about terrain. The Hejaz Railway is marked as "dismantled". Aeronautical information includes aerodromes, airfields, navigation lights, radio facilities, airspace and radio range, restricted areas etc.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. USAF 1/1M chart colour printed to the recto 74x56cm, with supporting text, keys, index maps, and correction instructions to the verso. Very good, neatly folded, lightly tanned with some light creasing, and short closed tears at intersections. This edition appeared in the aftermath of Iran's decision to nationalise the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) in March 1951, while Britain was contesting the issue at the ICJ. First published in October 1947, this "5th Edition Revised" was revised in June 1951 with air information current to July 1951, with a note stating "Minor changes on this edition do not obsolete previous 5th Edition printing". Coverage is bounded by Raqqa (NW), the Iraq-Iran border near Sulaymaniyah (NE), Al Kut (SE), and the convergence of the Iraq-Trans-Jordan border with the indefinite Saudi border (SW). Major settlements include Baghdad, Karbala, and Kirkuk. A very large area around Khanaqin and Naftkhanah (oilfield) on the Iraq side of the border with Iran is marked as "Prohibited" (defined as requiring specific authority by the using agency). This probably relates to protecting the activities of the Khanaqin Oil Company, a wholly owned AIOC subsidiary that was continuing to operate based on agreements with Iraq. A major section of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) Pipeline is shown with its pumping stations and landing grounds, from its origin at Kirkuk, to its divergence at Hadithah and beyond, with the Haifa branch shown as far as the Trans-Jordan border, and the Baniyas branch crossing Syria. Altitude is colour shaded. Extensive physical and human geographical features are shown, along with cultural sites. Aeronautical information includes aerodromes, airfields, navigation lights, radio facilities, airspace and radio range, restricted areas etc.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. Colour printed paper map 147x106cm. Very good, neatly folded with some spotting and wear at folds. Base information September 1957 with air information current as of December 1958, printed by ACIC 2-59. The base information was drawn during the Syrian Crisis (Aug-Oct 1957), a Cold War flashpoint in which the USSR offered to protect Syria from Turkish attack, and the US threatened to attack the USSR if it attacked Turkey. The conflict was resolved when the US persuaded Turkey to stand down, and Khrushchev paid a visit to the Turkish Embassy in Moscow. This occurred during the Eisenhower Doctrine, announced in January 1957 to provide US military or economic support to countries threatened by Communist aggression. This was motivated by growing Arab hostility to the West and growing Soviet influence in Syria and Egypt post-Suez. It was printed shortly after the Lebanon Crisis (Jul-Oct 1958) which required US intervention in response to perceived threat from the United Arab Republic created by Egypt and Syria earlier that year. This map, centred on the Gulf of Oman, bounded by Turkey (NW), the Gobi Desert (NE), Sumatra (SE), and the island of Lamu on the Kenya coast (SW). Details include area tints, spot elevations, cities, transportation (rail and major roads), international and other boundaries (including those not necessarily recognised by the US, and Soviet Zonal boundaries as of 1 Nov 1954), oil pipelines, etc. Networks of air corridors are shown especially over Israel, Lebanon, UAR (Syria), Baghdad and Tehran with related warning boxes about overflying certain territories, and Prohibited, Danger or Caution Areas. Neutral Zones over Israel and Egypt include those of El Auja (northern Sinai), Gaza and Jerusalem. Boundaries across the Arabian Peninsula are either described as approximate or towards the Gulf as undetermined. There are several descriptions of terrain. Three notes off the Indian coastline state "Numerous dwellings that do not cluster into villages are prevalent along the coastline and major river valleys of India".

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. 3rd Edition. Colour printed paper map 147x105cm. Very good, neatly folded. Base information October 1959, revised March 1967, air information current through 3 April 1967, lithographed by W.P.L. 7-67. This was issued in the aftermath of the Six Day War (5-10 June), which saw the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) come under threat. Israel took over the section passing through the Golan Heights and allowed operations to continue, effectively and somewhat embarrassingly making it one of its "transit states". At this time King Faisal refocused Saudi foreign policy to supporting Palestinian rights. Roughly centred on the Saudi-Iraq Neutral Zone, this covers all of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, both Neutral Zones, large parts of Saudi Arabia including key Eastern Province Aramco locations (Dhahran, Ras Tanura etc), Iraq (including Basrah and as far north as Najaf), and Iran (including Abadan, Bushire, Ahwaz). Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes and about terrain (with large areas labelled "relief data incomplete"); international boundaries (marked as approximate or undetermined); settlements of various size; rail, roads and tracks; power lines; Tapline with its pumping stations, etc. Aeronautical information includes different types of aerodrome (several marked abandoned or not usable), vertical obstructions with heights, warnings, etc.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. Colour printed paper map 146x106cm. Very good, neatly folded with some wear at folds. Base compiled May 1967 from sources dated 1932-65 with air information current through 26 May 1967, printed by WPL 6-67. An impressive Cold War map centred on Eastern Europe and the USSR, bounded by the Iceland Military Air Defence Identification Zone or ADIZ (NW), Krasnoyarsk (NE), the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (SE), and the Algeria-Mali border in the Sahara (SW). Details include area tints, spot elevations, approximate limits of pack ice (in the Baltic, Gulf of Bothnia, White Sea and around Iceland), international and other boundaries, transportation (rail including under construction, major roads), oil pipelines, etc. A note to the margin states the US "has not recognized the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and German territory into the Soviet Union, nor does it recognize as final the de-facto western limit of Polish administration in Germany". Boundaries include the German ADIZ with Central European Buffer Zone running alongside, the Italian ADIZ, the Soviet Zone of Occupation at the Germany-Denmark maritime border, and the Greek-Turkish Buffer Zone. A dense network of air corridors is shown over Europe along with numerous related warning boxes in the image about overflying certain territories, and a vast number of other code referenced Prohibited, Danger or Caution Areas. Prepared at the time of the Six Day War with growing Cold War tensions in the Middle East, these zones extend with related warnings into the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.

No Binding. Condición: Fine. Silk or rayon sheet 96x105cm, colour printed to both sides with 2 adjacent 1/2M scale aeronautical charts. Fine with fold creases and yellowing at the folds. Both appear to be first editions dated July and August 1950 respectively, based on Base Map No. 1 with no revisions indicated, with both lithographed by S.S. in August 1951. Between them they take in a significant porton of the Arabian Peninsula. Chart CL 402 (Red Sea) is bounded by the Nile (W), British Somaliland (SE) and the Dahanah Sahra which connects the Nefud with the Rub al Khali (NE), taking in much of Saudi Arabia, Aden Protectorate, Yemen, British and French Somaliland, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and Egypt. Chart CL 403 (Gulf of Aden) continues eastward to include much of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Trucial Oman (naming Abu Dhabi, Dibai, Sharja, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain, Ras al Khaima and Khor Kalba but not Fujairah), most of Qatar, and parts of Bahrain and Iran. Details include several grades of settlement, roads and rail, forts, lookout towers, springs, water wells and other water features, flats, shoals, rocks, ocean surface currents (yearly average, Winter, Summer), tidal currents, elevations, contours, sand areas, pipelines, boundaries (several of which undemarcated) and lines of equal magnetic variation as of 1945.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. 3rd Edition. Colour printed paper map 146x107cm. Very good, neatly folded with some wear to folds. First published in March 1956, revised June 1958, air information current July 1958. This was prepared shortly after the formation of the UAR, on the eve of the Lebanon and Jordan Crises which would see US forces sent to Beirut to support President Chamoun and King Hussein, the overthrow of Iraq's pro-British monarchy and tension with the Iraq Petroleum Company, and during the Cyprus Emergency. About centred on Riyadh, coverage is bounded by Cyprus (NW), the Iran-Afghan border (NE), the Kuria Muria Islands off the Muscat and Oman coast (SE), and Atbara (SW). Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes about terrain, international boundaries including the Armistice Line, settlements, rail, main roads, oil pipelines including the IPC and Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), radar altimetry areas, various types of aerodrome with runway alignments etc, radio facilities, prohibited, danger, and caution areas, and air corridors with related warnings. Prohibited areas cover northern Sinai, much of Israel and Lebanon, and Saudi cities, with a large Caution area over the Aramco concession at Dhahran, and a scattering of several Danger areas across the region.

No Binding. Condición: Very Good. 3rd Edition. Colour printed paper map 132x103cm. Very good, neatly folded. First published in 1944, revised December 1947, lithographed by AMS 5-48, with aero overprint by ACS 8-48. This is still labelled for Palestine. Centred on the Saudi-Iraq border, coverage is bounded by the Dardanelles (NW), Oxus (NE), Oman's Masirah Island (SE), and Dongola (SW). This covers the Arabian Peninsula as far south as Kunfida, including much of the Red Sea, the whole of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Colour tinted for altitude with contours, spot heights, notes about terrain, 4 grades of settlement, streams and shorelines, railroads, aircraft facilities (types of airport, airfields, seaplane ports, landing grounds, anchorages), airfield data, air navigation lights, and radio facilities. Landing grounds include those at pumping stations along the Iraq Petroleum Company Pipeline. Prohibited Areas are circled around several Saudi cities (Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, Hail, Al Jauf), Baghdad (also a Danger Zone), strategic locations in Egypt (Port Said, El Arish, and settlements up the Nile), and India's borders with Afghanistan and Iran. Restricted Areas are shown in Turkey. Notes about terrain in Saudi focus on water supply and quality in remote areas. International boundaries are also shown. Maps of this kind typically label those in eastern and southern Arabia as approximate or undefined, but this one has some strangely placed lines. These include a straight Saudi - Aden Protectorate line dropping due south from Uqair on the Gulf of Bahrain off the lower edge; an Oman - Aden Protectorate line extending well into Oman and including the Trucial States; and an Omani border with Qatar. This predates the Buraimi Dispute (there is no label for Buraimi), and may be an attempt to define the extent of British influence.

Wraps. Condición: Good. The format is approximately 8.5 inches by 11 inches. 121, [3] pages. Illustrated front cover. Illus. Footnotes. Cover has wear and soiling. This is a privately authored news service and educational publication of the Progressive Management Publications. Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's space development, acquisition, launch, and logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, and manages the United States' space launch ranges. Air Research and Development Command was redesignated as Air Force Systems Command in 1961. The Space Systems Division (SSD) was established on 20 Mar 1961 and activated on 1 Apr 1961. In 1967, the Space Systems Division was reorganized as the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO), absorbing the Ballistic Systems Division's mission. In 1979, the Space and Missile Systems Organization was renamed the Space Division and divested itself of ballistic missile development. In 1989, the Space Division returned to its historic name of the Space Systems Division and regained its ballistic missile development role in 1990. In 1992, the Space Systems Division was redesignated the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). In 2001 the SMC was reassigned to Air Force Space Command, remaining attached through its redesignation as Space Operations Command in October 2020. On 22 April 2021, it changed status from a U.S. Air Force unit to a U.S. Space Force unit and was reassigned from Space Operations Command to Headquarters United States Space Force. this publication provides a historical overview of the Space and Missile Systems Center and its antecedents during approximately the first 50 years of their existence. The Center's organizational ancestors include the Western Development Division and the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division of the 1950s, Space Systems Division and Ballistic Systems Division of the 1960s, the Space and Missile Systems Organization of the 1960s and 1970s, and Space Division and the Ballistic Missile Office of the 1980s. This history describes the evolution of their mission and organizational structure, the history of base facilities, and the history of the principal space and missile programs managed by SMC and its predecessors. Although this essay touches on a few space programs managed by other agencies, its focus is institutional: it is about the work and infrastructure of SMC rather than other organizations, however worthy. Chapter I: Mission and Organization * Chapter II: Facilities * Chapter III: Ballistic Missiles * Chapter IV: Launch Vehicles * Chapter V: Satellite Systems * Chapter VI: Air Force Satellite Control Network * Chapter VII: Other Programs * Chapter VIII: Increasing Reliance on Space Systems in Combat. SMC and its predecessors have been supported over the years by private sector organizations that have provided systems engineering for its programs and technical direction to its contractors. The first such organization was the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, chosen in 1954 to provide systems engineering and technical direction for WDD's missile programs. In 1958, Ramo-Wooldridge merged with Thompson Products to form Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge (TRW). However, Congress expressed reservations about the propriety of a profit-making entity serving an agency of the government so closely and exclusively. In 1959, Congress recommended that a nonprofit agency be established as the systems engineering arm of the Air Force for space and missile programs. In June 1960, a nonprofit organizationThe Aerospace Corporationwas created at the initiative of the Secretary of the Air Force to perform that function. At that time, plans called for TRW to continue providing systems engineering for existing missile programs and for Aerospace to provide systems engineering for all space programs and for future missile programs. As it turned out, Aerospace did perform some work in the missile field, but it focused primarily on s.