Air Force Space Command declared the first Space Based Infrared Systems geosynchronous satellite fully operational on May 17, AFSPC spokeswoman 1st Lt. Connie Dillon told the Daily Report on June 12. The early warning satellite, known as GEO-1, launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., on May 7, 2011. It was followed by the launch of GEO-2 in March of this year. The SBIRS constellation is designed to provide early warning of missile launches and other types of infrared surveillance information to the US military and intelligence community. They will complement, and eventually replace, legacy Defense Support Program satellites.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.