Inside the US basic tracking global rocket launches

There is a short sharp cry: “Start Yemen!” Men and women in uniform sitting in front of computers, everyone reacts in unison, “copy, start Yemen.”

In the US space forces are called guardians, not troops. Looking at their screens at a Denver suburbs, Colorado, they are able to track a rocket launch from anywhere in the world – and follow it from its launch point to its likely point of impact.

We are the first international journalists to be authorized in the Rocket Warning Room and the US Space Forces Tracking at the Buckley Space Forces Base, a nervous center, where the guardians are on the bustle of 24/7.

They are surrounded by giant monitors that provide maps and data sent by a constellation by military satellites in space.

These guardians are the first to find the infrared heat signature when a rocket is fired. Moments later there is another plumbing – “Starting of Iran” – followed by a chorus of “Copy of Iran”.

This time it’s a workout. But last month they made it real – when Iran fired a racket of missiles to the US military base in Al-Aduid in QatarIn response to us and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Colonel Ann Hughes describes the mood on this day as “heavy”. Unlike most shoots, they were warned in advance. They were able to track these Iranian missiles and then power this information on the Earth’s air defense batteries.

“In the end, we kept the whole installation and the staff that was there,” she says, expressing relief.

Kohl Hughes says they have been extremely busy in recent years, with wars raging both in the Middle East and in Europe.

When I ask her if they give warnings to Ukraine, Kohl Hughes says, “We provide strategic and tactical warnings for rockets to all of us and the Allied forces.” The US will not confirm it publicly, but it seems that they could also give Kiev their heads when it would be under a Russian attack.

Buckley Space Force Base will be a key part of President Donald Trump’s plans for a US missile defense shield known as the gold dome.

He has set $ 175 billion (£ 130 billion) as an ambitious program – inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome anti -air protection system. Many believe it will cost a lot more.

But the foundations are already in place in Buckley. Its silhouette is dominated by massive radomas, round lids that protect powerful satellite dishes inside. They look like giant golf balls on the horizon. These satellite arrays have discovered radio frequency waves from supernova to 11,000 light -years.

Lieutenant General David Miller, commander of the US Space Operations Command, says the development of the gold dome, still in its early days, is an acknowledgment of the growing threats to the country’s homeland.

He specifically mentions China and Russia.

Both have developed hypersonic rockets that can travel more than five times greater sound speed. Both have tested fractional orbital bombings that are more difficult to track.

“The speed and physics associated with the capture of them require viewing of space interceptors,” says General Miller. He prefers to talk about “opportunities” to protect the interests of America, not about weapons in space.

The creation of the US cosmic power five years ago is proof that space is already a domain for combating combat. President Trump launched the power in his first termDescribing the space as the “newest war for war fight.”

Both China and Russia have tested anti -satellite rockets as well as ways to congestion their communications.

General Miller says Russia has “demonstrated the ability to potentially put a nuclear load” in space. He says space is already an area “that is heavily contested”, adding that “we must also be prepared for conflict in space.”

Colonel Phoenix Hauser monitors the Cosmic Forces Department of Intelligence, Observation and Intelligence, known as Delta 7. Their job is to understand what is happening in space.

In their base near Colorado spring, teams watch screens showing thousands of small points around the world. There are already about 12,000 satellites in space. By the end of the decade, which could grow to 60,000.

Kohl Hauser says their main focus is on China. “This is the threat of the step,” she says. China already has about a thousand satellite, half of them military. Over the next decade, Kohl Hauser says there will be tens of thousands more in orbit with low earth orbit. The space is increasingly overloaded and disputed.

“We’re already sparring in space,” she says. “We see close unprofessional and dangerous commitments from our opponents.” This includes satellites equipped with electronic jamming, lasers and even networks and grappling weapons that can be used to move another satellite outside the course.

Some have suggested that “dog battles” are already being held.

“I do not know that we are quite there as a top gun as a prospect of combating dogs,” says Kohl Hauser. “But we must be ready.”

The US space forces are preparing for the possibility of conflict in space. Kohl Hauser says a year ago they “failed to talk about having offensive space opportunities.” She now says that their focus “is to generate options for the president so that we can win and maintain cosmic superiority through offensive and protected space control.”

Gen Miller says that the only way to prevent conflict is “through strength and we need to have our own opportunities to protect our assets.” He will not give details what he means.

But the recent American strokes on Iran’s nuclear programMidnight Hammer Operation gives an idea of what US cosmic power is already able to do. These B-2 bombers also emphasize why continuing dominance in space remains decisive for the US military.

“You need to understand how much the US military is accepting the advantage we get from space,” says Gen Miller. This includes the ability to navigate and communicate through the horizon and to deliver precision shocks using GPS.

The BBC received the first details of how US Cosmic Forces Guardians participated in the operation.

“One of the things we did was to use our ability to electromagnetic war to ensure domination during the operation,” says Gen Miller. The electric magnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared and visible light.

“We knew the environment would be stuck,” he says. The US space forces have ensured that the silence was denied so that the B-2 US bombers could reach their target and deliver their GPS-controlled massive bombs with accuracy.

Electronic war specialists from the American Space Force Delta 3 have already worked on the spot in the region.

Their commander, Colonel Angelo Fernandez, shows me the ranks of satellite dishes and command containers that can fly to places anywhere in the world.

The vessels, according to him, can be used to capture and then drown the communications of enemy forces by “emitting noise that is stronger”.

“They were able to protect both US assets and at the same time open a flight corridor,” he says.

Before, during and after the mission, the Guardians of the Delta 7 Space Forces provide Overwatch.

Colonel Phoenix Hauser says they have been able to observe the electromagnetic spectrum “To understand, Iran knows what is happening, do they have any tactical warning that strikes can happen.” They helped to preserve the surprise element and allowed air crews to fulfill the mission undiscovered.

The US space forces may be the youngest military service, but this is crucial to America’s military forces. Gen Miller says all US military “are dependent on cosmic superiority.”

He wants to ensure that this remains so. And he has a warning for every opponent.

“When the US military focuses on something – God help you!”

Production and photography by Matthew Godard