Buckley Space Force Base | |||||||
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Aurora, Colorado in the United States | |||||||
Coordinates | 39°42′06″N 104°45′06″W / 39.70167°N 104.75167°W | ||||||
Type | US Space Force Base | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
Operator | United States Space Force | ||||||
Controlled by | Space Operations Command | ||||||
Website | www | ||||||
Site history | |||||||
Built | 1938 | (as Demolition Bombing Range–Lowry Auxiliary Field)||||||
In use | 1938 – present | ||||||
Garrison information | |||||||
Current commander | Colonel Marcus D. Jackson | ||||||
Garrison | Buckley Garrison | ||||||
Occupants |
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Airfield information | |||||||
Identifiers | IATA: BFK, ICAO: KBKF, FAA LID: BKF, WMO: 724695 | ||||||
Elevation | 1,726.1 metres (5,663 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] |
Buckley Space Force Base (IATA: BFK, ICAO: KBKF, FAA LID: BKF) is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 4 (flies the Defense Support Program and Space-Based Infrared System constellations from Buckley SFB and commands the Space Force's missile warning forces), the Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Wing (flies the F-16C Fighting Falcon), the Denver Naval Operations Support Center, and the National Reconnaissance Office's Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado.
Buckley was established in 1938 by the United States Army Air Corps as Demolition Bombing Range–Lowry Auxiliary Field, before being renamed Buckley Field in 1941, serving as a training base. In 1947, it became Naval Air Station Denver, serving as a reserve air station for the U.S. Navy. In 1961 it became Buckley Air National Guard Base, and had its first space mission in 1969. In 2000, it became Buckley Air Force Base under Air Force Space Command, before assuming its current name of Buckley Space Force Base in 2021.