A key aspect of launch operations is down-range tracking and communication –the tracking of a vehicle by radar along its launch trajectory and the multi-frequency telecommunications links for its control and data communication. There exists today a sophisticated but somewhat hap-hazardly and ad-hoc developed global down-range telemetry network based on the cooperative use of facilities across different nations. During the Cold War and the first Space Race, most of this system was established independently by US and Soviet militaries and has grown with the development of other national space programs and the emergence of the commercial space industry. While post-Soviet history has seen a merging of the two major networks and a spirit of cooperation among most of the nations and industries c