Satellite Tracking Station at Laguna Peak for the Naval Satellite Operations Center Point Mugu (Now 10th Space Operations Squadron)

UPDATE: On June 6, 2022, the Naval Satellite Operations Center that previously was responsible for the Laguna Peak station was transferred from the Navy to the Space Force, specifically, the 10th Space Operations Squadron (10 SOPS). The mission of 10 SOPS, which is headquarted at Naval Base Ventura County, is to operate, manage, and maintain assigned satellites and ground systems, providing continuous and reliable satellite communications in direct support of Fleet, Joint, and Interagency operations. Learn more at THIS LINK and about 10 SOPS at www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/3146952/10th-space-operations-squadron.

(Military photo of Laguna Peak.)

If you’re in the vicinity of Thornhill Broome State Beach and Sycamore Cove Beach in Point Mugu or hiking up the Chumash Trail to the La Jolla Valley in Point Mugu State Park, you’ve probably noticed some futuristic looking equipment up on a hill to the west.

That hilltop is the 1,421 foot Laguna Peak in the westernmost tip of the Santa Monica Mountains, home to the Naval Base Ventura County’s Satellite Tracking Station.

The tracking station monitors rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base and other sites and is a part of a network of satellite control facilities that includes stations in Prospect Harbor, Maine, Rosemount, Minnesota and the Lincoln Laboratory in Massachusetts.