Activated in December 1950, replacing
550th Guided Missiles Wing. The group had a distinguished career launching and/or managing ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles and payloads for the Ballistic Systems Division, the Space Systems Division and the Space & Missile Systems Organization. As a Wing or a Group, the 6555th earned ten Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards between 21 December 1959 and October 1990. In the 1950s, the unit had several designation changes and organizational realignments. As launches of winged missiles continued, the Wing gained two new units the
1st and
69th Pilotless Bomber Squadrons in October 1951 and January 1952. Thereafter, the 6555th focused most of its efforts on assembling, testing and launching B-61 Matador missiles so the 1st and 69th Pilotless Bomber Squadrons would be prepared for operations in Europe. The 6555th Guided Missile Wing became the 6555th Guided Missile Group on 1 March 1953, and the 1st and 69th Pilotless Bomber Squadrons were reassigned to
Tactical Air Command (TAC) on 15 January 1954. Since TAC agreed to train all other B-61 Matador squadrons at TAC's own school at
Orlando AFB, Florida, the 6555th Guided Missile Group was little more than a squadron when the 69th completed its field training in the summer of 1954. •
QB-17L Flying Fortress (1946–1950) : The BQ-17 Flying Fortresses was an unmanned aircraft that would fly near or even through mushroom clouds during postwar atomic tests. B-17s were withdrawn from stores for conversion into drones with the addition of radio, radar, television, and other equipment. Most of the work was performed by the San Antonio Air Depot at
Kelly Field in Texas. Initially supplied by the
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group, The first of these nuclear tests took place in the South Pacific under the code name "
Operation Crossroads". When the USAF was established in 1947, the director aircraft became DB-17Gs, while the drones became QB-17GL. : By January 1950, the Air Proving Ground decided this piecemeal operation ought to be consolidated, and it recommended the establishment of a separate and permanent drone squadron. Personnel from the 550th GMW 2d Guided Missiles Squadron were subsequently transferred to a new unit, the
3200th Proof Test Group in May 1950. When the 550th GMW was reassigned to
Patrick AFB in December 1950, the drone operations remained at the
Eglin's Air Proving Ground Center. • VB-3 Razon (1947–1948) : The VB-3 Razon (for range and azimuth) was a standard 1,000-pound
general-purpose bomb fitted with flight control surfaces. Development of the Razon began in 1942, but it did not see use during World War II. Tested during the postwar era, by the
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Squadron, at Eglin Field. •
VB-13 Tarzon (1947–1948) : Developed in 1946, the Tarzon was essentially a British 12,000-pound "Tall Boy" bomb fitted with a forward shroud to provide lift, with flight control surfaces in the tail. The name came from a combination of Tall Boy and Razon. Tested during the postwar era, by the
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Squadron, at Eglin Field. • Lark Missile (1949–1953) : Development began in 1944; the Lark was an early
United States Navy surface-to-air, liquid-propellant, rocket-propelled missile built by the
Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation, and was usually launched from the decks of ships with the help of solid propellant boosters. It carried a 100-pound warhead and had a range of about 38 miles. Also tested by the Air Force 550th GMW 3d Guided Missiles Squadron at Navy
Point Mugu Testing Range, California. Also tested by the 4800th GMW 4803d GMS at the
Long Range Proving Ground, Florida. •
German V-2/WAC-Corporal (1950) : Most tests of captured V-2 rockets were conducted at
White Sands, New Mexico, however the
"Bumper7 and Bumper8" tests were launched from Cape Canaveral on 24 and 29 July 1950 respectively. The
General Electric Company was responsible for launching the vehicles, and the Army's Ballistic Research Laboratories (
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland) provided instrumentation support. Among the Army and Air Force units that supported the Bumper flights from the Cape, the
550th Guided Missiles Wing provided several aircraft and crews to monitor the Range for clearance purposes. The Long Range Proving Ground Division provided overall coordination and range clearance. •
GAM-63 Rascal (1951–1952) : The GAM-63 was an air-to-surface supersonic guided missile armed with a nuclear warhead. Its development was inaugurated in April 1946. The Rascal was intended as a "stand off" weapon, to be launched from Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers as far away as 100 miles, thus reducing the manned bomber crew's exposure to enemy defenses in the immediate target area. : A 2/3-scale version of the GAM-63 Rascal called "Shrike" was tested at Holloman AFB in 1951 and 1952 by the 6556th Guided Missile Squadron to evaluate the aerodynamics and launching characteristics of the Rascal system. Though there was some thought given to transferring the Rascal program to the
Patrick AFB Air Force Missile and Testing Center in 1952, Headquarters ARDC decided to keep the Rascal at Holloman AFB along with shorter-ranged missile programs. •
SM-62 Snark (1952–1959) : The SM-62 (Strategic Missile) program gave the U.S. Air Force valuable experience in developing long-range strategic nuclear missile systems. The SM-62 was a significant forerunner of cruise missiles developed many years later. The Wing received its first Snark training missile (e.g., an N-25 research vehicle) in late May 1952, and the 6556th Guided Missile Squadron activated a Snark cadre at AFMTC on 16 June. The squadron conducted 97 test launches at the Cape beginning on 29 August 1952 through 5 December 1960 from
LC-1,
LC-2 and
LC-4 for the Snark Employment and Suitability Test (E and ST) program. There were several mishaps during the test program—though they were valuable learning experiences—caused some to label Florida’s coast as "Snark infested waters." On 27 June 1958,
Strategic Air Command's (SAC)
556th Strategic Missile Squadron launched its first Snark (an N-69E) under the supervision of the 6555th GMS from LC-2. Under an informal agreement between
Air Training Command and AFMTC, one officer and five airmen were sent to AFMTC in March 1959 and attached to the 6555th GMS to train officers and airmen for SAC's Snark unit at
Presque Isle Air Force Base, Maine. •
IM-99 Bomarc (1952–1958) : The supersonic Bomarc missiles (IM-99A and IM-99B) were the world's first long-range anti-aircraft missiles, and the only surface-to-air missile (SAM) ever deployed by the United States Air Force. Unlike the Lark Missile program, the IM-99 Bomarc test program at the Cape was essentially a
Boeing contractor-led operation. The 6555th's people were not responsible for any IM-99 Bomarc launches, but six airmen from the 6555th's 20-man IM-99 Bomarc Section were assigned to help Boeing with electronic equipment maintenance tasks in late March 1953, and nine other airmen assisted the
University of Michigan with its IM-99 Bomarc activities at the Cape. The
Air Force Missile Test Center provided range support and test facilities at the Cape, and AFMTC's safety agencies were responsible for ensuring that safety requirements for the 15,000-pound, 47-foot-long missile were "stringently enforced".
Launch Pads 3 and
LC-4 were used for IM-99 testing. • X-10/
XSM-64 Navaho (1955–1958) : The North American B-64 Navaho was designed as an interim strategic weapon to be used while the first-generation Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles were being perfected. The basic concept of the Navaho Program called for the weapon to be lofted to high altitude using a conventional strap-on rocket booster. Since the XB-64 (later redesignated XSM-64) was powered by ramjets, the engines were started after launch when sufficient speed required for ramjet operation was reached at approximately 50,000 feet. : The 6555th Guided Missile Squadron launched 15 Navahos during the test program between 1955 and 1958. Only two of three planned versions (e.g., the X-10 and the XSM-64) were ever launched at the Cape from
LC-9 and
LC-10. After six months of delays, the first X-10 flight took place 19 August 1955. On the XSM-64's first launch on 6 November 1956, the pitch gyro failed 10 seconds after lift-off, and the missile and its booster broke up and exploded 26 seconds into the flight. Three more XSM-64s were launched over the next seven months with depressing, if not equally dismal, results. The next missile fell back on the launch pad on 25 April after rising only four feet. The last of the three was launched on 26 June 1957. It performed well until the ramjets failed to operate after booster separation, and the missile impacted about 42 miles downrange. The only bright spots in the program seemed to be some static tests of the Navaho's booster rockets and North American's isolation of problem areas revealed in the first four XSM-64 flights. Unfortunately for North American, Navaho was already doomed. In a message dated 12 July 1957, Air Force Headquarters terminated the Navaho's development. •
PGM-17 Thor (1954–1959) : The
Douglas SM-75/PGM-17A Thor was the first operational USAF ballistic missile. Thor was designed to be an interim nuclear deterrent while the U.S. Air Force developed long-range
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as a top national priority. The Air Force Missile Test Center became involved with the Thor (Weapon System 315A) program in the fall of 1954, after ARDC ordered development of that missile "as soon as possible." Following a series of meetings between AFMTC and Western Development Division officials in February and March 1955, support requirements were worked out for two launch pads, a blockhouse, a guidance site, one service stand, airborne guidance test equipment, housing and messing facilities. : The Air Force Ballistic Missile Division carried out the first test launch from
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 17B (LC-17B) on 25 January 1957. The first launch by a USAF SAC missile crew was made on 16 December 1958. Training turned over to Vandenberg AFB, 1959 for further testing and deployment to Great Britain and other locations in NATO. Still in use today, the Thor booster is used as the first stage of a space vehicle known as the
Delta II used for
Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and commercial space launch operations. •
SM-65 Atlas (1957–1965) : The SM-65 Atlas missile was developed by
General Dynamics (
Convair Division) for the US Air Force. It was the first operational
Intercontinental ballistic missile in America's nuclear arsenal and the beginning of the United States Space Program. The Atlas' development was a much larger enterprise than the Thor program, but its flight test program moved ahead quickly once the missile arrived at the Cape. The first
XSM-16A Atlas prototype tested from
Launch Pad 12 on 11 June 1957. Following completion of the XSM-16A flight test program in March, Convair proceeded with the SM-65A Atlas development program, which was scheduled to advance through four series of flight tests by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division: •
LGM-25C Titan II (1962–1964) : While the SM-68A Titan I system was becoming operational, the USAF recognized that it could be simplified and improved. Using the same manufacturing and test facilities, the SM-68B took shape as a major step forward in ICBM technology. Perhaps Titan II's most important feature was its quick-launch capability. It could be launched in about 60 seconds from inside its underground silo (Titan I took 15 minutes and had to be elevated above ground first). This speed was crucial in responding to a preemptive nuclear attack before incoming missiles arrived. : Almost immediately after the release of the Titan I from the R&D testing program, the Titan Division began R&D testing on the follow-on LGM-25C Titan II. The Section's people received two months of formal training at Martin's Titan plant in
Denver during the first half of 1962, and they continued their on-the-job training at Cape Canaveral.
Launch complexes 15 and
16 were modified to launch the new missile, and the first test flight of the Titan II was made on 16 March 1962 from LC-15. Two more successful test flights were made from complexes 15 and 16 on 6 July and 7 November. : Minuteman missile testing was the last intercontinental ballistic missile effort at Cape Canaveral. The 6555th Test Wing Minuteman activities began on 21 December 1959 with the Minuteman Project Division. An inert LGM-30A Minuteman I missile was processed along with 90 percent of its support equipment in the spring of 1960. Another inert missile (equipped with electrical components to test the facilities' electronic compatibility) was assembled and tested at the Cape in October and November 1960. Last-minute construction, equipment installation and launch pad preparations also required an around-the-clock effort from Boeing toward the end of 1960 to get the facility ready for the first Minuteman I launch from
Launch Pad 31 on 1 February 1961. The flight was highly successful, and it set a record for being the first launch operation in which all stages of a multi-staged missile were tested on the very first test flight of an R&D program. First USAF crew flight occurred on 27 June 1963. As preparations for military space shuttle operations continued, the STS Division identified and analyzed many problems associated with "factory-to-pad" processing of military payloads. The division's findings helped justify the need for an off-line Shuttle Payload Integration Facility (SPIF), and they convinced the AFSC Commander to approve the SMAB's west bay as the site for the SPIF in January 1979. As work on the SPIF got underway, the 6555th Aerospace Test Group formed the STS/IUS Site Activation Team in September 1981 to address problems associated with the first IUS processed aboard the Shuttle. The STS Division and the Satellite Systems Division were consolidated to form the Spacecraft Division on 1 November 1983. Following an 87-hour countdown,
Columbia lifted off at 1500:00Z on 27 June 1982. Mattingly and Air Force Colonel Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. conducted the military mission in addition to several civilian experiments while "on-orbit." and the long-term effects of temperature changes on Shuttle subsystems were studied along with a survey of orbiter-induced contamination in the Shuttle's payload bay. Columbia made a hard runway landing at Edwards Air Force Base at 1609:00Z on 4 July 1982. •
STS-41-D OV-103 Discovery (30 August-5 September 1984) : The first of five operational SYNCOM IV military communications satellites was launched on
Discoverys maiden flight on 30 August 1984. The flight supported a mixed DOD/civilian mission, and
Discoverys on-orbit agenda included the deployment of two civilian satellites (e.g., AT&T's TELSTAR 3-C and Satellite Business Systems' SBS-D) and a solar array experiment (OAST-1). •
STS-51-A OV-103 Discovery (8–16 November 1984) : Mission 51-A was
Discoverys second voyage into space, and it featured a military spacecraft among its payloads. The lift-off was scheduled for 7 November 1984, but upper level wind shear delayed the launch until 8 November. Discovery was launched from Pad 39A at 1215:00Z on 8 November 1984. The ANIK D2 satellite was deployed successfully at 2104Z on 9 November, and the military payload-SYNCOM IV-was deployed successfully at 1256Z on 10 November. The rendezvous and satellite capture sequences were completed successfully over the next four days in space, and Discovery landed at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 1200:01Z on 16 November 1984. •
STS-51-C OV-103 Discovery (24–27 January 1985) : The first all-military Shuttle mission was originally scheduled for launch on 8 December 1984, it did not lift off until 24 January 1985. Captain Thomas K. Mattingly, II was selected to command Discovery on the highly classified mission. The launch was delayed on 23 January due to weather, and cold weather held up cryogenic fueling operations for two hours on the 24th. Those delays aside, the last four hours of the countdown proceeded smoothly, and
Discovery lifted off Pad 39A at 1950:00Z on 24 January 1985. Details of the mission are not releasable, it is believed that a
Magnum 1 reconnaissance satellite was released using an
Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) solid-fueled booster rocket.
Discovery landed at KSC at 2123:24Z on 27 January 1985. •
STS-51-D OV-103 Discovery (12–19 April 1985) : The third SYNCOM IV spacecraft was deployed along with Telesat Canada's Anik-C satellite during
Discoverys mission in mid-April 1985.
Discovery lifted off Pad 39A at 1359:05Z on 12 April 1985.
Discoverys crew deployed the Anik-C satellite successfully on the first day of the mission, and the SYNCOM IV was deployed on Day 2. Unfortunately, the SYNCOM IV's perigee kick motor failed to fire, and two more days were added to the mission to allow a rendezvous and an improvised restart of the spacecraft. Two "flyswatter" devices were attached to the Shuttle's Remote Manipulating System (RMS) to allow the crew to depress the SYNCOM IV's timer switch. Despite a successful rendezvous and a switch reset on Day 6, the attempt failed. The SYNCOM IV spacecraft was left in orbit to be retrieved and redeployed in early September 1985.
Discovery landed at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 1355:37Z on 19 April 1985. •
STS-51-I OV-103 Discovery (27 August-3 September 1985) :
Discoverys sixth trip into space was launched in late August 1985. The countdown was started again at 0205Z on 27 August, and it proceeded smoothly except for a three-minute extension in a built-in hold to clear traffic in a solid rocket booster retrieval area.
Discovery lifted off Pad 39A at 1058:01Z on 27 August 1985. The AUSSAT-1 spacecraft was ejected from the orbiter's cargo bay at 1733Z on the 27th, and the satellite's deployment and perigee kick motor burns were both successful. The ASC-1 deployment and boost were also successful on Day 1 of the mission. The SYNCOM IV-4 deployment went extremely well on Day 3, and
Discoverys crew prepared for their rendezvous with the wayward SYNCOM IV-3 spacecraft on Day 5. The spacecraft was retrieved and repairs were completed on the satellite on Day 6 of the mission. SYNCOM IV-3 was redeployed at 1512Z on 1 September 1985. Unlike its earlier performance in April, the spacecraft began sending good telemetry data to ground stations shortly thereafter.
Discovery landed on Edwards' Runway 23 at 1315Z on 3 September 1985. •
STS-51-J OV-104 Atlantis (3–7 October 1985) : The Shuttle
Atlantis maiden flight was completed in early October 1985, and it was dedicated to a highly classified military mission.
Atlantis was launched from Pad 39A at 1515:30Z on 3 October 1985. Details of the mission remain classified, it is believed that two
DSCS-III B4 and DSCS-III B5 were launched using an IUS booster from the shuttle.
Atlantis landed on Edwards' Runway 23 at 1700Z on 7 October. •
STS-27 OV-104 Atlantis (2–7 December 1988) : The Shuttle's next military mission was put on hold after the Challenger disaster, but it was carried out by Atlantis between 2 and 7 December 1988. The mission was highly classified, so most details are not releasable. Though the countdown was picked up at 0230Z on 1 December, upper level wind shear effects delayed the launch until 2 December. The countdown was picked up again on 2 December, but a problem with a ground feed liquid oxygen valve required a 50-minute unscheduled hold at T minus 180 minutes. Wind shear problems forced another delay at T minus nine minutes for an additional 99 minutes, but the final unscheduled hold (at T minus 31 seconds) only lasted 71 seconds. Atlantis lifted off Pad 39B at 1430:34Z on 2 December. The Shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base at 2336:11Z on 6 December 1988. •
STS-28 OV-102 Columbia (8–13 August 1989) : Columbia was pressed into service to support her second military space mission in August 1989. Once again, the mission was highly classified, so only a few details are releasable. The countdown got underway on 8 August 1989. A user data link problem delayed the countdown for approximately 70 minutes during a built-in hold, but the count proceeded normally after that incident. Columbia lifted off Pad 39B at 1237:00 on 8 August 1989. In addition to deploying their military payload successfully, Columbia's crew conducted several on-orbit experiments during the five-day mission. The Shuttle landed on Edwards' Runway 22 at 1337Z on 13 August 1989. •
STS-33 OV-103 Discovery (23–28 November 1989) : Discovery was launched on her second all-military Shuttle mission in late November 1989. The countdown on 23 November proceeded uneventfully until T minus five minutes, when a three-minute and thirty-second hold was called to let the user complete checklist items. The countdown resumed, and Discovery lifted off Pad 39B at 0023:30Z on 23 November 1989. It is believed that a
Magnum 2 reconnaissance satellite was released using an
Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) solid-fueled booster rocket. Though Discovery's landing was delayed until 27 November due to high winds over Edwards Air Force Base, the Shuttle made a successful landing on Runway 4 at 0030Z on 28 November 1989. •
STS-32 OV-102 Columbia (9–20 January 1990) : Columbia's ninth space mission was a mixed military/civilian operation. The mission had three main objectives: 1) deploy the fifth SYNCOM IV military satellite, 2) retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) deployed by the Shuttle Challenger in early April 1984, and 3) conduct a variety of experiments in the Shuttle's middeck area. A launch attempt on 8 January 1990 was scrubbed due to weather, but the countdown on 9 January proceeded smoothly, and Columbia was launched from Complex 39A at 1235:00Z on 9 January 1990. The SYNCOM IV-5 spacecraft was deployed successfully at 1318Z on 10 January, and Columbia rendezvoused with the LDEF on 12 January. All middeck experiments were underway by the end of Day 2 of the mission. Though the Shuttle's landing was delayed a day for weather, Columbia landed safely on Edwards' Runway 22 at 0935:38Z on 20 January 1990. •
STS-36 OV-104 Atlantis (28 February-4 March 1990) : Atlantis lifted off Pad 39A on another all-military Shuttle mission at 0750:22Z on 28 February 1990. Though details of the mission remain classified, the flight was successful. Atlantis landed on Edwards' Runway 23 at 1808:44Z on 4 March 1990. •
STS-38 OV-103 Discovery (15–20 November 1990) : Atlantis flew another all-military Shuttle mission in November 1990. The launch was originally planned for the summer of 1990, but it was delayed after hydrogen leaks were found in the Atlantis and Columbia orbiters. (Atlantis was rolled back to the VAB for repair toward the end of July 1990.) A new mission execution order (90–7) was implemented on 21 October 1990, and it announced a tentative launch date of 10 November 1990. The countdown was picked up on 15 November at 1340Z, and it proceeded smoothly to a built-in hold at T minus 9 minutes. That hold was extended two minutes and 34 seconds to allow the user to catch up on checklist items, and the countdown proceeded to lift-off at 2348:15Z on 15 November 1990. The mission was highly classified, so on-orbit details are not releasable. It is believed that a
Magnum 3 reconnaissance satellite was released using an
Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) solid-fueled booster rocket. Atlantis' crew planned to land at Edwards Air Force Base on 19 November, but strong winds delayed the landing and forced NASA to divert the orbiter to KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility instead. Atlantis landed on KSC Runway 33 at 2142:43Z on 20 November 1990. •
STS-39 OV-103 Discovery (28 April- May 1991) : Discovery's SDI mission featured two deployable payloads, three orbiter bay payloads and two middeck experiments. The Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) was on board to help define SDI systems and gather infrared data on Shuttle exhaust plumes, Earthlimb and aurora phenomena, chemical/gas releases and celestial infrared sources. It consisted of two deployable hardware elements (e.g., the
Shuttle Pallet Satellite II and a collection of three
Chemical Release Observation sub-satellites) and a non-deployable Critical Ionization Velocity element. The Air Force Program 675 payload was included on the mission to gather infrared, ultraviolet and x-ray data on auroral, Earthlimb and celestial sources. It consisted of five experiments mounted on a pallet in the Shuttle payload bay. The Space Test Payload-1 (STP-1) was a secondary payload consisting of five experiments designed to gather data on: 1) fluid management in weightless conditions, 2) MILVAX computer and erasable optical disk performance in weightless conditions, 3) atomic oxygen glow effects, 4) free particles present in the Shuttle payload bay during flight ascent and 5) the upper atmosphere's composition. The Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS) experiment used a 36-exposure camera to photograph clouds and correlate cloud characteristics with their impact on the efficiency of military surveillance systems. The hand-held Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) sensor was included on the mission in one of a continuing series of experiments to collect data on gamma radiation aboard the Shuttle. With Discovery safely in low-Earth orbit, the crew set about completing the mission. The SPAS II was deployed at 0928Z on 1 May 1991. Though problems with the onboard
Sun sensor forced cancellation of the first exhaust plume observation, other observations went well later in the day. NASA was reportedly "very pleased" with the results. The AFP-675 payload's experiments went well, and 31 of 33 individual experiments were completed by the time the Shuttle's Remote Manipulating System retrieved the SPAS II at 1445Z on 3 May. Following another day of Earth observations, the SPAS II was returned to the payload bay and stowed. Discovery's deorbit burn occurred around 1750Z on 6 May, and the Shuttle landed at KSC's Runway 15 at 1855Z on the same day. •
STS-44 OV-104 Atlantis (24 November-1 December 1991) : The last military Shuttle mission was flown by Atlantis. The mission execution order (91–7) was implemented on 11 October 1991, but the scheduled launch was delayed for five days in mid-November due to a problem with the payload's IUS. A handful of optics, communications and weather instrumentation problems also cropped up during the countdown on 24 November, and the Range Safety Display System required a reload approximately half an hour before launch. Despite those problems, Atlantis' lift-off from Pad 39A went smoothly at 2344:00Z on 24 November 1991. The primary objective of the mission was to deploy a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite approximately 6 hours and 18 minutes into the flight. The crew deployed the DSP spacecraft as scheduled at 0603Z on 25 November, but the mission was terminated three days early due to an Inertial Measurement Unit failure aboard the Shuttle. Though a landing at KSC was scheduled, Atlantis was ultimately diverted to Edwards Air Force Base for her landing. Following completion of the deorbit burn at 2131Z, Atlantis touched down on Runway 05 at 2234:42Z on 1 December 1991. ==Lineage==