Space Forces
Strategic Overview
The Space Forces (a branch within the Russian Aerospace Forces, VKS, established in 2015 through the merger of the Air Force and Aerospace Defense Troops) are responsible for military space operations. Core missions include command and control of military satellites, tracking and telemetry, launch support and range operations, space domain awareness, navigation system maintenance (GLONASS), military satellite communications, and support to early-warning and other space-based military capabilities. The ground segment is distributed across Russia and allied/host locations, providing time-critical telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) coverage for national space assets.
Command and Headquarters
Headquarters: Moscow. Command: Colonel-General Aleksandr Golovko (Commander of the Space Forces). The Space Forces are subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the VKS and oversee key ground facilities, including command-and-measurement complexes, scientific testing points, and logistics arsenals that support military spacecraft and associated ground systems.
Primary Ground Operations Center
The principal ground operations hub is the Main Test Space Center named after G.S. Titov (often referred to in open sources as the Titov Main Test Space Center), located in Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Oblast. It manages Russia’s distributed TT&C network, routes spacecraft telemetry, performs orbit determination and command uplink, and integrates measurement data from subordinate command-and-measurement complexes and measurement points. It also coordinates with launch ranges and mission control elements for both routine and contingency operations.
Command-and-Measurement Network: Purpose and Composition
Russia’s command-and-measurement system consists of Separate Command and Measurement Complexes (OKIK) and Separate Measurement Points (OIP) positioned to provide national coverage for spacecraft telemetry reception, command uplink, ranging, and tracking. These sites collectively support communications, navigation, reconnaissance, meteorology, and early-warning satellites across common Russian orbit regimes (including high-inclination low Earth orbits, Molniya-type highly elliptical orbits, and geostationary slots). Equipment suites typically include TT&C antennas, ranging systems, timing and synchronization infrastructure, and mission-specific ground support systems; specific equipment inventories and coordinates are generally not publicly disclosed.
Listed Command-and-Measurement Complexes (OKIK) and Measurement Points (OIP)
The following units are identified in the provided data: 13th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 14129); 14th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 26178; listed twice in the provided data, likely a duplicate entry of the same unit); 15th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 14038); 17th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 77981); 18th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 97692); 20th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 59946); 46th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 14058); 48th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 34122); 65th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 14086); 76th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (military unit 14108); 26th Separate Measurement Point (military unit 92626); Separate Measurement Point (military unit 20608). These units form part of the Space Forces’ TT&C network under the Titov center. Publicly available sources do not consistently disclose precise locations, specific antenna inventories, or frequency plans for each unit.
Scientific Testing Facilities
The Space Forces operate specialized scientific testing establishments that conduct trials and validation for space systems and ground segments. From the provided information: 7th Separate Scientific Testing Point (military unit 85906) and 43rd Separate Scientific Testing Station (military unit 25522) are identified. The 7th Separate Scientific Testing Point is noted as recently expanded in 2022 in the provided data; open-source specifics on the scope, systems, or infrastructure associated with that expansion are limited, and details are not publicly confirmed. These facilities typically execute acceptance, qualification, and operational testing for new platforms, software baselines, ground support equipment, and upgraded TT&C capabilities prior to fleet-wide integration.
Logistics and Sustainment
The 28th Space Forces Arsenal (military unit 14272) performs storage, maintenance, and distribution functions for ground-based space support equipment and related materiel. Arsenals of this type generally handle spares, test equipment, cabling and RF components, radome and antenna subsystems, mobile TT&C assets, and other mission support items. Specific stocklists, storage locations, and security procedures are not publicly available.
Optical Space Surveillance
The Space Forces maintain optical and radar space domain awareness (SDA) assets via the Main Center for Reconnaissance of the Situation in Space (GKRKS) and subordinate units, leveraging optical-electronic complexes and specialized radars. The provided data references a Space Forces Optical Surveillance Unit (military unit 71496) with a question mark indicating uncertainty; there is no publicly verifiable, authoritative mapping of this specific unit number to a known optical site in open sources. Russia’s optical surveillance estate includes systems such as the Okno/Okno-M complexes and related assets; exact unit-number associations and equipment configurations for the cited unit are not confirmed in public reporting.
Space Forces Testing and Evaluation
The provided data lists a Space Force Testing Center (military unit 94077). Open-source materials do not clearly identify this unit number with a specific named testing center. In general, Space Forces testing and evaluation activities encompass ground system acceptance, software and network interoperability trials, procedural validation for on-orbit operations, and training-related test events. When new spacecraft buses, payloads, or ground system upgrades are fielded, these centers execute structured testing prior to operational turnover. Further details for military unit 94077 are not publicly available.
Operational Integration with Launch and Control
The Space Forces coordinate TT&C support with national launch sites, including the Plesetsk Cosmodrome (the primary military spaceport), to ensure coverage during ascent, orbit insertion, and early-orbit checkout. After launch, routine command and telemetry operations are routed through the Titov center to the distributed OKIK/OIP network for continuous mission support. The network’s geographic dispersion enables contact opportunities optimized for high-inclination and highly-elliptical orbits commonly used by Russian military spacecraft, and maintains contingency routing to mitigate single-point failures.
Recent Developments and Modernization
Since the formation of the VKS in 2015, the Space Forces have pursued modernization of ground infrastructure to enhance reliability, automation, and coverage for an expanding satellite fleet (including communications, navigation, reconnaissance, and early-warning platforms). The provided data notes an expansion of the 7th Separate Scientific Testing Point in 2022; however, publicly accessible technical specifics are limited. Broader, well-documented trends include upgrades to TT&C equipment and SDA assets, integration of newer satellite series, and infrastructure refurbishment across legacy sites. Detailed equipment types, frequency plans, and site-by-site modernization timelines are not comprehensively disclosed in open sources.
Redundancy, Coverage, and Security Considerations
The multiplicity of Separate Command and Measurement Complexes and subordinate measurement points provides redundancy and improves schedule availability for commanding and ranging. The network’s distribution across Russia reduces reliance on any single node and improves pass geometry for satellites in polar and high-inclination orbits. Specific physical security measures, redundant communication links, and backup power arrangements at each site are not publicly detailed. Known constraints for any fixed TT&C infrastructure include visibility windows limited by geography and line of sight, and the need to maintain robust timing, cybersecurity, and RF interference mitigation across a distributed enterprise.
Data Confidence and Gaps
This analysis relies on the unit designations and identifiers provided: Headquarters (Moscow); Commander (Colonel-General Aleksandr Golovko); 7th Separate Scientific Testing Point (military unit 85906, recently expanded in 2022 per provided data); 26th Separate Measurement Point (military unit 92626); 28th Space Forces Arsenal (military unit 14272); 13th, 14th (military unit 26178; listed twice), 15th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 46th, 48th, 65th, and 76th Separate Command and Measurement Complexes (military units as noted); 43rd Separate Scientific Testing Station (military unit 25522); Separate Measurement Point (military unit 20608); Space Forces Optical Surveillance Unit (military unit 71496, unconfirmed); Space Force Testing Center (military unit 94077). Precise locations, equipment suites, and command wiring for several of these units are not consistently verifiable in open sources, and where information is not publicly available or is classified, it is not included here.