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The
United States Space Force (USSF) is the
space service branch of the
U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight
U.S. uniformed services, and the
world's first and currently only independent space force. The U.S. Space Force is a
military service branch, and along with sister-branch, the
U.S. Air Force, is part of the
Department of the Air Force, one of the three civilian-led military departments within the
Department of Defense. The Space Force, through the Department of the Air Force, is overseen by the
Secretary of the Air Force, a civilian political appointee who reports to the
secretary of defense, and is appointed by the
president with Senate confirmation. The military head of the Space Force is the
chief of space operations who is the most senior Space Force officer unless a Space Force officer is serving as either the chairman or vice-chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. The chief of space operations exercises supervision over the Space Force's units and serves as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The
Space Force is the
smallest U.S. armed service, consisting of 2,501 guardians and operating 77 spacecraft. Major spacecraft and systems include the
Global Positioning System constellation, military satellite communications constellations,
Boeing X-37B spaceplane,
U.S. missile warning system,
U.S. space surveillance network, and the
Satellite Control Network. Under the
Goldwater–Nichols Act, the Space Force is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping space forces, which are then presented to the
unified combatant commands, predominantly to
United States Space Command, for operational employment.
The U.S. Space Force traces its roots to the beginning of the
Cold War, with the first Air Force space programs starting in
1945. In
1954, the Western Development Division, under General
Bernard Schriever, was established as the first dedicated space organization within the U.S. Armed Forces and continues to exist as the Space Force's
Space and Missile Systems Center. Military space forces were organized under several different Air Force major commands until they were
unified when
Air Force Space Command was established on
1 September 1982. U.S. space forces first began conducting combat support operations in the
Vietnam War and continued to provide
satellite communications, weather, and navigation support during the 1982
Falklands War, 1983
United States invasion of Grenada,
1986 United States bombing of Libya, and 1989
United States invasion of Panama. The first major employment of space forces culminated in the
Gulf War, where they proved so critical to the U.S.-led coalition, that it is sometimes referred to as the first space war.
The
first discussions of creating a military space service occurred in
1958, with the idea being considered by President
Ronald Reagan as well in
1982. The
2001 Space Commission argued for the creation of a Space Corps between
2007 and
2011, and a bipartisan proposal in the
U.S. Congress would have created a U.S. Space Corps in
2017. On
20 December 2019, the
United States Space Force Act, developed by Democratic Representative
Jim Cooper and Republican Representative
Mike Rogers, was signed as part of the
National Defense Authorization Act by
DJT, reorganizing Air Force Space Command into the United States Space Force, and creating the
first new independent military service since the
Army Air Forces were reorganized as the U.S. Air Force in 1947.
On
18 November 2020, the UK announced its
proposal to establish a new military command dedicated to space, similar to the recent moves taken by allied countries such as France and the US. The proposal of a new Royal Air Force (RAF) space command was part of an announcement by the UK Government of the largest defence budget since the Cold War of £16.5 billion over the next four years.
When fully operationally capable, UK Space Command will "provide command and control of all of Defence’s space capabilities, including [the] UK Space Operations Centre, SKYNET Satellite Communications, RAF Fylingdales, and other enabling capabilities."
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