Space defense center in Colorado begins 24-hour operations

The National Space Defense Center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado is now in full operation.

The center, which last year was operating with borrowed troops, has begun operating 24 hours a day with a staff of 230.

The Gazette reports that its mission is to ferret out threats to military and spy satellites and take actions to keep American interests safe in orbit.

The ultra-secret center operates behind a prison-like double-fence inside Schriever’s secure area.

While specifics of the unit haven’t been released, center director Col. Todd Brost says it includes contractors, representatives of American spy agencies along with troops from Air Force Space Command.

The center was created out of increasing fear that America’s enemies would make satellites a wartime target.