Los Angeles Air Force Base, California

Located near Los Angeles Airport (LAX), this base is the headquarters for the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), a major military satellite development organization. SMC is responsible for research, development, acquisition, testing and sustainment of military space and missile systems. In addition, SMC is also involved with the development and maintenance of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Los Angeles Air Force Base oversees a SMC budget of more than $5 billion. Over 2,000 people work at the 112-acre base (in 2015) which houses its military personnel at Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, and in Pacific Heights. Next to the base is the Aerospace Corporation, a private, non-profit defense engineering company that supports the SMC. Other facilities in the Space and Missile Systems Center are at Kirtland Air Force Base, Phillips Lab, and Norton Air Force Base.