The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base celebrated the 45th anniversary of the launch of the first Defense Support Program satellite today. It was the beginning of a satellite constellation that has provided early missile warning to our nation’s leaders and warfighters for almost five decades.
The launch of the maiden DSP spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Fla., was successfully accomplished on Nov. 6, 1970. For 45 years, the DSP early warning satellite system has provided 24-hour, worldwide surveillance for missile warning and nuclear burst detection and serves as the space segment of the U.S. Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment System.
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