Air Force Space Command officials said that technicians had powered down the equipment for Satellite Operations Center-52 at Onizuka AFS, Calif. SOC-52 had provided 36 years of 24-hour space support. The SOC-52’s final mission took place on Feb. 14, 2004, when its personnel placed the next-to-last Defense Support Program satellite into a perfect geosynchronous orbit, said officials. Onizuka itself is slated to close under the 2005 BRAC recommendations.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…


