Okay, “coming soon” might be a bit of hyperbole since the publication date is scheduled for August 2022. But, hey, I was excited to see the cover *and* finish the final proofing of the manuscript this weekend.
Since Falcon Air Force Station (now known as Schriever Space Force Base) was the successor in both legacy and operations to Sunnyvale AFS/Onizuka AFB, I thought it would segue nicely on my blog.
I did include a chapter on early military space operations that focused on the Satellite Test Center (aka The Stick), and brief mention of the Blue Cube and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. I receive devastating feedback from angry readers on Amazon.com when I do this – “why do you do this, when those places are not relevant to [whatever] Air Force Base?”
I believe that understanding the past is the key to the future, and with that I always give background to the “hows” and “whys.” Schriever SFB is no exception – the vulnerabilities and gaps at Sunnyvale AFS forced the Air Force to consider a few courses of action regarding the then-approaching Space Shuttle program and the burgeoning National Reconnaissance Program satellites that were nearly maxing out the STC and Blue Cube’s capabilities.
One area I intentionally ignored (gasp!) in this book was the Air Force Satellite Control Network. While the Onizuka AFB book did show pictures of the various ground stations, this was partially due to the limited amount of photos from within the Blue Cube. With Schriever SFB’s establishment showing operationalization of many military space missions, there were more photos of operations available. I’m sure someone is going to jump on the comments and tell me ignoring the AFSCN is wrong (and ten reasons why they *won’t* buy the book…).
That’s okay. I believe the overall story structure of the maturation of a lone space outpost on the Eastern Colorado Plains into the most important military installation in the world is enough. (I also didn’t have to pad a few photos for a 128-pg B&W book; there were plenty to fit the 96-page full color format).
Comments and critiques are welcome.
Joseph T. Page II 