It was 1999, and something dark and sinister stirred in the Gothic Sector. Meet the original Blackstone Fortress.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, is closing out his first year of command and focusing on the future.

For more than 60 years, the military has launched reconnaissance, communications, and missile warning satellites into orbit.