after the loss of the space shuttle challenger in january 1986, the space program was grounded for 34 months until the launch of space transportation system-26 in september 1988. after 11 sep 2001, the group examined vulnerabilities of us space facilities at home and abroad. the air force's tactical exploitation of national capabilities program transferred national capabilities to operational commands. the group's air force space battlelab developed and field tested capabilities to increase productivity of operational commands. its aerospace fusion center supported space missile launches.