United States Space Force

The Space Staff, also known as the Office of the Chief of Space Operations or Headquarters, United States Space Force, serves as service's highest staff and headquarters element, is located at the Pentagon. The Space Staff is overseen by the chief of space operations (CSO), who holds the rank of general and is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the Space Force and serves as the principle advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on the Space Force. In addition to their service role, they serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing advice to the president of the United States and secretary of defense[18] The vice chief of space operations (VCSO), also holding the rank of general, serves as the deputy to the chief of space operations and is responsible for overseeing, integrating space policy and guidance, and coordinating space-related activities for the U.S. Space Force and Department of the Air Force.[19] The chief master sergeant of the Space Force (CMSSF) is the most senior enlisted member of the Space Force, unless an enlisted guardian is serving as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman. The CMSSF provides direction for and represents the interests of the Space Force's enlisted corps, while also acting as a personal advisor to the chief of space operations and secretary of the Air Force on issues relating to the welfare, readiness, morale, utilization, and development of members of the Space Force.[20]

Support to the Space Staff is managed by the director of staff, who holds the rank of lieutenant general and is responsible for the staff action, protocol, information technology and administration, resources, and total force integration groups. They are also responsible for synchronizing policy, plans, positions, procedures, and cross functional issues for the U.S. Space Force headquarters staff.[21] Parallel to the director of staff are three deputy chiefs of space operations. The deputy chief of space operations for personnel and logistics, also known as the chief human capital officer, leads the S1/4 staff directorate and is a civilian member of the senior executive service. The deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, also known as the chief operations officer, leads the S2/3/6/10 staff directorate and is a lieutenant general, responsible for Space Force operations, intelligence, sustainment, cyber, and nuclear operations support.[22] The deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis, also known as the chief strategy and resourcing officer, leads the S5/8/9 staff directorate and is a lieutenant general, responsible for Space Force strategies, requirements, and budget.[23] The chief technology and innovation officer is a civilian member of the senior executive service.[24]

Title		Office	Current holder
Service leadership
	Chief of space operations	CSO	Gen John W. Raymond
	Vice chief of space operations	VCSO	Gen David D. Thompson
	Chief master sergeant of the Space Force	CMSSF	CMSSF Roger A. Towberman
Space Staff
	Director of staff		Lt Gen Nina M. Armagno
	Deputy chief of space operations for personnel and logistics / chief human capital officer	S1/4	Patricia Mulcahy
	Deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear / chief operations officer	S2/3/6/10	Lt Gen B. Chance Saltzman
	Director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance	S2	Maj Gen Leah G. Lauderback
	Deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis / chief strategy and resourcing officer	S5/8/9	Lt Gen William J. Liquori Jr.
	Director of Plans and Programs	S8	Brig Gen Jennifer L. Grant
	Chief technology and innovation officer		Maj Gen Kimberly A. Crider (acting)

Space Operations Command deltas and garrisons.

Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's first field command and commanded by a lieutenant general. Space Operations Command was established on 21 October 2020 by redesignating Headquarters United States Space Force, which itself was redesignated from Headquarters Air Force Space Command on 20 December 2019 when the Space Force was established. Currently the Space Force's sole field command, Space Operations Command is primarily responsible for space operations, cyber operations, intelligence operations, and the administration of Space Operations Command bases and serves as the Space Force service component to United States Space Command. It is responsible for 9 space mission deltas, two garrisons, and two wings.[25]

Space Operations Command West is responsible for executing space warfighting operations and is led by a major general who is also the deputy commander of Space Operations Command and the commander of U.S. Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, which SpOC West serves as the headquarters for. Space Operations Command West was redesignated from the original Space Operations Command upon the current Space Operations Command's standup on 21 October 2020. This first SpOC was itself redesignated from Air Force Space Command's Fourteenth Air Force on 20 December 2020.[25]

Space Operations Command is also temporarily responsible for a number of units that are intended to become part of different field commands upon their activation. Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional) is intended to form the core of Space Training and Readiness Command when the field command is established in 2021. The 30th Space Wing and 45th Space Wing, responsible for launch and range operations, are intended to join with the Space and Missile Systems Center to form Space Systems Command when it is established.[25]

Name		Function	Headquarters	Commander
	Space Operations Command	Space, cyber, and intelligence operations, and combat support	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado	Lt Gen Stephen N. Whiting
	Space Operations Command West	Space warfighting operations	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California	Maj Gen DeAnna M. Burt
Space mission deltas
	Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional)	Space training, test and evaluation, and doctrine development	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 2	Space domain awareness	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 3	Space electronic warfare	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 4	Missile warning	Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 5	Command and control	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
	Space Delta 6	Cyberspace operations	Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 7	Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 8	Satellite communication and navigation warfare	Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Delta 9	Orbital warfare	Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
Garrisons and wings
	Peterson-Schriever Garrison	Mission and medical support	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Buckley Garrison	Mission and medical support	Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
	30th Space Wing	Space launch, Western Range administration, and mission and medical support	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
	45th Space Wing	Space launch, Eastern Range administration, and mission and medical support	Patrick Space Force Base, Florida

The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is the United States Space Force's development and acquisitions center and commanded by a lieutenant general. The Space and Missile Systems Center is the oldest military space organization in the United States Armed Forces, being established on 1 July 1954 as Air Research and Development Command's Western Development Division under General Bernard Schriever.[11][12] It went through a number of iterations, being redesignated as the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in 1957, Air Force Systems Command's Space Systems Division in 1961, the Space and Missile Systems Organization in 1967, the Space Division in 1979, regaining the name of the Space Systems Division in 1990, before assuming its current designation of the Space and Missile Systems Center under Air Force Materiel Command in 1992, before being transferred from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Space Command in 2001. The Space and Missile Systems Center is responsible for 6 directorates, 1 division, and 1 air base group.[26]

The Space and Missile Systems center is intended to become the core of Space Systems Command, a field commanded intended to combine the Space Force's acquisitions, engineering, research and development, and launch activities under one organization.[25]

Name		Function	Headquarters	Commander
	Space and Missile Systems Center	Research and development, acquisitions, and engineering	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California	Lt Gen John F. Thompson
Directorates and divisions
	Advanced Systems and Development Directorate	Advanced systems development	Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
	Global Positioning Systems Directorate	Global Positioning System acquisition, development, launch, and sustainment	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
	Launch Enterprise Directorate	Space launch vehicle acquisition and operations	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
	Military Satellite Communications Directorate	Military satellite communications acquisition, development, launch, and sustainment	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
	Range and Network Systems Division	Launch and test range system and Air Force Satellite Control Network modernization, sustainment, development and support	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
	Remote Sensing Systems Division	Overhead persistent infrared and weather satellite acquisition, development, launch, and sustainment	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
	Space Logistics Directorate	Space logistics, maintenance, supply, sustaining engineering	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
	Space Superiority Systems Directorate	Develop, deliver, and sustain space control capabilities	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
Air base groups
	61st Air Base Group	Mission and medical support	Los Angeles Air Force Base, California

Former Air Force Space Command bases have not been officially transferred to the United States Space Force from the United States Air Force, however the Space Force has taken over operational control of these bases through its garrisons.[27] On 9 December 2020, Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida were the first Space Force installations renamed, becoming Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[28] The Space Force operates six primary bases, seven smaller stations, and one air base in Greenland.[29] It also has ten units based outside the contiguous United States in Greenland, the United Kingdom, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia atoll, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam.[30]

Seal of United States Space Command.

United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) is the unified combatant command for all military space operations, while the United States Space Force is the military service responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the majority of forces for U.S. Space Command. The Space Force's service component to Space Command is Space Operations Command, providing the majority of space forces. U.S. Space Command also consists of smaller amounts of forces from the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Air Force. This mirrors the relationship between the Space Force's predecessor, Air Force Space Command, and U.S. Space Command (and between 2002 and 2019, United States Strategic Command).[31]

Service mark of the United States Air Force.

The United States Space Force and United States Air Force are both coequal sister service branches under the United States Department of the Air Force, a civilian-led military department under the Department of Defense. The Space Force's direct antecedent, Air Force Space Command, was an Air Force major command and Air Force space professionals worked throughout Air Education and Training Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and the rest of the Air Force's major commands. Prior to the creation of Air Force Space Command in 1982, Air Force space assets were spread across Air Force Systems Command for launch and acquisitions, Aerospace Defense Command (until it's inactivation in 1979), and Strategic Air Command and the first predecessor of the Space Force, the Western Development Division, was established in 1954 under the Air Force's Air Research and Development Command.[11][12]

The Space Force derivates most of its support personnel from the Air Force, being provided civil engineers, security forces, logistics, contracting, finance, and medical personnel who are then assigned to Space Force garrisons. The Space Force and Air Force also share the same service secretary and military department, along with common commissioning sources and training programs such as the United States Air Force Academy, Air University, and Air Force Basic Military Training. [32]

Seal of the National Reconnaissance Office.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a Department of Defense agency and a member of the United States Intelligence Community, responsible for designing, building, launching, and maintaining intelligence satellites. The National Reconnaissance Office was established in 1961 as a joint agency between the United States Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency, being declassified in 1992.[33] The Space Force performs NRO space launches and consists of 40% of the agency's personnel.[34][35][36]

A number of proposals have been put forward, including by the Air Force Association and retired Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula, to merge the National Reconnaissance Office into the United States Space Force, transforming it into a Space Force Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance Command and consolidating the entire national security space apparatus in the Space Force.[37][38][39]

Logo of NASA.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for civil spaceflight. NASA and the Space Force's predecessors in the Air Force have a long-standing cooperative relationship, with the Space Force supporting NASA launches out of Kennedy Space Center, to include range support and rescue operations from Task Force 45. [40] NASA and the Space Force also partner on matters such as space domain awareness and planetary defense operations.[41]

Space Force members can also be NASA astronauts, with Colonel Michael S. Hopkins, the commander of SpaceX Crew-1, commissioned into the Space Force from the International Space Station on 18 December 2020.[42][43][44]

The United States Air Force Academy commissioned the first 86 Space Force lieutenants on 18 April 2020 from the members of the class of 2020.

The United States Air Force Academy is considered the premier commissioning source for Space Force officers through its Space Force detachment and Cadet Space Operations Squadron.

On 18 April 2020, the United States Air Force Academy graduated the Space Force's first eighty-six new second lieutenants. [49] Space Force officers are commissioned through the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps programs at civilian universities, and Air Force Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.[50] The United States Air Force Academy is considered the premier commissioning route for Space Force officers, having a Space Force detachment which provides Space Force training, immersion, and mentorship to cadets, the Cadet Space Operations Squadron flying FalconSAT-series of satellite since 1997, and its Department of Astronautics being the oldest in the world, established in 1958.[51][52][53][54]

Space Force officers attend Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base for professional military education, which has a number of space-specific programs including the Space Gray Rhinos program at Squadron Officer School for captains, the Schriever Space Scholars program at Air Command and Staff College for majors, and the West Space Seminar at Air War College for lieutenant colonels and colonels. [55][56] A small number of Space Force and Air Force officers also attend the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.[57]

Space Force officers specialties include:[45][58][59]

• 13S - Space operations officer
  • 13SA - Orbital warfare officer
  • 13SB - Space electronic warfare officer
  • 13SD - Space battle management officer
  • 13SE - Space access and sustainment officer
• 14N - Intelligence officer
• 17 - Cyberspace warfare operations officer
  • 17C - Cyberspace warfare operations commander
  • 17D - Warfighter communications operations officer
  • 17S - Cyberspace effects operations officer
• 62 - Developmental engineer field
  • 62E - Developmental engineer
  • 62S - Materiel leader
• 63 - Acquisition field
  • 63A - Acquisitions manager
  • 63G - Senior materiel leader-lower echelon
  • 63S - Materiel leader

US DoD pay grade	Officer candidate	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	Special grade
NATO code	OF(D)	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Insignia	Various insignia											Not established
Service dress uniform
OCP uniform
Title	Cadet / Officer trainee	Second lieutenant	First lieutenant	Captain	Major	Lieutenant colonel	Colonel	Brigadier general	Major general	Lieutenant general	General
Abbreviation	Cdt / OT	2d Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen

Vice chief of space operations General David D. Thompson swears in the first four enlisted Space Force recruits at the Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Station, Maryland on 20 October 2020.

Chief of space operations General John W. Raymond and chief master sergeant of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman perform a transfer ceremony for 300 Space Force personnel at the Pentagon on 15 September 2020.

The Space Force swore in its first 7 enlisted recruits on 20 October 2020, graduating basic military training on 10 December 2020. The Space Force performs its basic training through Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, with the inclusion of space-specific curriculum, while still training alongside Air Force recurits.[60] The Space Force's Forrest L. Vosler Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, operating under Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional), at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, provides enlisted professional military education for Space Force technical sergeants. The Space Force is in the process of standing up a separate enlisted professional military education program and enlisted professional military education center with curriculum focused on Space Force doctrine, values, and competences at the specific ranks of specialist 4, technical sergeant, senior master sergeant, and chief master sergeant.[61]

Space Force enlisted specialties include:[62][58][59]

• 1C6 - Space systems operations specialist
• 1N - Intelligence specialist
  • 1N0 - All source intelligence analyst
  • 1N1 - Geospatial intelligence analyst
  • 1N2 - Signals intelligence analyst
  • 1N4 - Fusion analyst
  • 1N8 - Targeting analyst
• 3D - Cyberspace support specialist
  • 3D0 - Cyberspace operations specialist
  • 3D1 - Cyberspace support specialist

US DoD pay grade	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7		E-8		E-9
NATO code	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7		OR-8		OR-9
Service dress uniform	No insignia
OCP uniform
Title	Specialist 1	Specialist 2	Specialist 3	Specialist 4	Sergeant	Technical sergeant	Master sergeant	First sergeant	Senior master sergeant	First sergeant	Chief master sergeant	First sergeant	Command chief master sergeant	Chief master sergeant of the Space Force	Senior enlisted advisor to the chairman
Abbreviation	Spc1	Spc2	Spc3	Spc4	Sgt	TSgt	MSgt[note 1]		SMSgt[note 1]		CMSgt[note 1]			CMSSF	SEAC
Space Force first sergeants are considered temporary and lateral ranks and are senior to their non-diamond counterparts. First sergeants revert back to their permanent rank within their paygrade upon leaving assignment.

Chief of space operations General John W. Raymond wearing the service dress uniform during the U.S. Space Command change of command ceremony.

Chief of space operations General John W. Raymond debuting the Space Force's configuration of the OCP uniform.

While the Space Force is currently in the process of designing and testing its own unique mess dress, service dress, and physical training uniforms. In the interim period, the Space Force has adopted the Air Force's set of mess dress, service dress, and physical training uniforms.[63]

The mess dress uniform is worn during official formal evening functions and state occasions and consists of a blue mess dress coat, blue trousers with a 7/8th inch satin blue trouser stripe, white dress shirt, with a satin blue cummerbund and bow tie. Rank is worn on blue shoulder boards for officers and on the sleeves for enlisted. Officers wear a 1/2 inch silver braid on the sleeve, while general officers wear a 3/4 silver braid. Miniature medals and badges are worn in mess dress.[64]

The service dress uniform, also known as the class A uniform, consists of the blue service dress coat worn over the service blues uniform. The service dress coat is worn with a silver name tag, ribbons, silver U.S. lapel insignia, U.S. Space Force lapel insignia, and full sized badges. Metal officer rank is worn on the epaulets, while enlisted rank is worn on the sleeve. Officers wear 1/2 inch blue braid on the sleeve, while general officers wear 1 1/2 inch blue braid. The service blue uniform, also known as the class B uniform, consists of either a long-sleeve or short-sleeve light blue shirt, blue trousers, with a blue belt with silver buckle and a blue tie may be worn. The service blue uniform is worn with a plastic blue nametag and badges. Officer rank is worn on blue shoulder mark, while enlisted rank is sewn on the sleeve. Authorized outerwear includes the lightweight blue jacket, topcoat, and all-weather coat. Authorized headwear includes the service cap with a silver Great Seal of the United States and flight cap. Field grade and general officer service caps include additional clouds and darts on the cap visor, while the chief of space operations is authorized a ring of clouds and darts around the service cap.[64]

Space Force cadets at the Air Force Academy wear the same uniform as Air Force cadets, however, in their distinctive blue and white parade dress uniforms they wear a platinum sash in place of the gold sash worn by Air Force cadets.[65]

The United States Space Force has adopted the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniform as its combat uniform, sharing it with the United States Army and United States Air Force. The Space Force is distinguished by the use of embroidered space blue thread for name tape, service tape, rank insignia (except for major and second lieutenant, which use spice brown), and badges, and wears a full color United States flag on the left sleeve. The U.S. Space Force, field command, delta, school or other headquarters patch is worn on the left sleeve, while the unit of assignment patch is worn on the right sleeve. The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) is authorized with wear with the OCP uniform. The Space Force has also authorized the wear of the legacy digital tigerstripe pattern Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) until its phase out on 1 April 2021.[66][67] The service's announcement that it was adopting the OCP uniform generated some criticism on social media, with some uses questioning if the Space Force would be deployed to the forest moon of Endor, referencing the camouflage uniforms worn by Rebel Alliance soldiers in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, however the Space Force stated that adopting the OCP uniform will save the costs of designing and producing an entirely new one, and that Space Force troops deploy on the ground alongside Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force personnel.[68]

The basic (top), senior (middle), and command (bottom) ratings of the Space Operations Badge.

Members of the United States Space Force wear occupational badges on their uniforms to indicate job specialty. They may also wear previously earned badges, occupational badges, or badges awarded by sister services.[64] Space Force occupational badges are the Space Operations Badge, for 13S space operations officers and 1C6 enlisted space systems specialists, the Intelligence Badge, for 14N intelligence officers and 1N enlisted intelligence specialists, the Cyberspace Operator Badge for 17X cyberspace operations officers and the Cyberspace Support Badge for enlisted 3DX cyberspace support specialists, and the Acquisition and Financial Management Badge for 62X developmental engineer officers and 63X acquisitions manager officers.[64][62]

As part of the United States Department of the Air Force, the United States Space Force and United States Air Force share the same awards and decorations or same variations of awards and decorations.[69]

General Bernard Schriever, father of the United States Space Force and military space

Aerospace Defense Command was the Air Force's first major command to operationally utilize space forces.

Air Force Space Command was the direct antecedent of the Space Force.

Following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945. Early military space development was begun within the United States Army Air Forces by General Henry H. Arnold, who identified space as a crucial military arena decades before the first spaceflight. Gaining its independence from the Army on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force began development of military space and ballistic missile programs, while also competing with the United States Army and United States Navy for the space mission in 1949.[80]

In 1954, the Air Force created its first space organization, the Western Development Division, under the leadership of General Bernard Schriever.[11][12] The Western Development Division and its successor organization, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, were instrumental in developing the first United States military launch vehicles and spacecraft, competing predominantly with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under the leadership of General John Bruce Medaris and former German scientist Wernher von Braun. The launch of Sputnik 1 spurred a massive reorganization of military space and the 1958 establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency was a short-lived effort to centralized management of military space, with some fearing it would become a military service for space, with authorities being returned to the services in 1959. The establishment of NASA in 1958, however, completely decimated the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, resulting in the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division serving as the primary military space organization. In 1961, the Air Force was designated as the Department of Defense's executive agent for space and Air Research and Development Command was reorganized into Air Force Systems Command, with the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division being replaced by the Space Systems Division - the first Air Force division solely focused on space. In the 1960s, military space activities began to be operationalized, with Aerospace Defense Command taking control of missile warning and space surveillance on behalf of NORAD, Strategic Air Command assuming the weather reconnaissance mission, and Air Force Systems Command operating the first generations of communications satellites on behalf of the Defense Communications Agency. In 1967, the Space Systems Division and Ballistic Missiles Division were merged to form the Space and Missile Systems Organization, which began to develop the next generation of satellite communications, space-based missile warning, space launch vehicles and infrastructure, and the predecessor to the Global Positioning System. Space forces also saw their first employment in the Vietnam War, providing weather and communications support to ground and air forces.[81]

The disjointed nature of military space forces across three military commands resulted in a reevaluation of space force organization within the Air Force. In 1979, the Space and Missile Systems Organization was split, forming the Space Division, and in 1980, Aerospace Defense Command was inactivated and its space forces transferred to Strategic Air Command. Resulting from internal and external pressures, including an effort by a congressman to rename the Air Force into the Aerospace Force and the possibility that President Reagan would direct the creation of a space force as a separate military branch, the Air Force directed the formation of Air Force Space Command in 1982. During the 1980s, Air Force Space Command absorbed the space missions of Strategic Air Command and the launch mission from Air Force Systems Command. Space forces provided space support during the Falklands War, United States invasion of Grenada, the 1986 United States bombing of Libya, Operation Earnest Will, and the United States invasion of Panama. The tactical employment of space forces culminated in the Gulf War, where space forces proved so critical to the U.S.-led coalition, that it is sometimes referred to as the first space war.[81]

Following the end of the Gulf War, the Air Force came under intense congressional scrutiny by seeking to artificially merge its air and space operations into a seamless aerospace continuum, without regard for the differences between space and air. The 2001 Space Commission criticized the Air Force for institutionalizing the primacy of aviation pilots over space officers in Air Force Space Command, for stifling the development of an independent space culture, and not paying sufficient budgetary attention to space. The Space Commission recommended the formation of a Space Corps within the Air Force between 2007 and 2011, with an independent Space Force to be created at a later date. The September 11 attacks derailed most progress in space development, resulting in the inactivation of United States Space Command and beginning a period of atrophy in military space. The only major change to occur was the transfer of the Space and Missile Systems Center from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Space Command. Following the inactivation of U.S. Space Command in 2002, Russia and China began developing developing sophisticated on-orbit capabilities and an array of counter-space weapons, with the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test of particular concern as it created 2,841 high-velocity debris items, a larger amount of dangerous space junk than any other space event in history.[81] On 29 August 2019, United States Space Command was reestablished as a geographic combatant command.[83]

U.S. Space Force logo used from 20 December 2019 on public social media accounts[84][85]

The first real attempt to centralize the military space organizations occurred in 1958, with the Advanced Research Projects Agency sometimes being described as, and feared by its detractors that it would become, a fourth military service. While the 1981 proposal to rename the United States Air Force into the United States Aerospace Force was not an attempt to create a space service branch, it did mark a clear attempt by congress to increase the profile of space within the service, which it rejected. The possibility that President Reagan would announce the creation of the Space Force as an independent service in 1982 spurred the Air Force to establish Air Force Space Command. The 1990s saw a number of proposals for an independent space force, including one by Air Force Space Command Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia A.S. McKinley in 2000 which called for the establishment of a United States Space Guard.[86][81] The most notable proposal for an independent Space Force was by the 2001 Space Commission, which called for the creation of a Space Corps within the Air Force between 2007 and 2011, and the establishment of an independent Space Force after that. The Space Commission was established by Congress after it became concerned that the Air Force was seeking to artificially merge its air and space operations into a seamless aerospace continuum, without regard for the differences between space and air.[87][81] Ultimately, due to the September 11 attacks, a Space Force was not established.[88] The United States' national security space organization actually regressed, with United States Space Command being inactivated in 2002, subsumed into United States Strategic Command. The Allard Commission report, unveiled in the wake of the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test, called for a reorganization of national security space, however many of its recommendations were not acted upon by the Air Force.[88]

Growing impatient with the Air Force, who they felt was more interested in jet fighters than space, Representatives Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Mike Rogers (R-AL) unveiled a bipartisan proposal in the House of Representatives to establish the United States Space Corps as a separate military service within the Department of the Air Force, with the commandant of the Space Corps as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This proposal was put forward to separate space professionals from the Air Force, give space a greater cultural focus, and help develop a leaner and faster space acquisitions system. This was done due to congressional concern that the space mission had become subordinate to the Air Force's preferred air dominance mission and that space officers were being treated unfairly within the Air Force, with Representative Rogers noting that in 2016 none of the 37 Air Force colonels selected for promotion to brigadier general were space officers and that only 2 of the 450 hours of Air Force professional military education were dedicated to space.[89] The proposal passed in the House of Representatives, but was cut from the final bill in negotiations with the U.S. Senate.[88] Following the defeat of the proposal in the senate, both Representatives Cooper and Rogers heavily criticized Air Force leadership for not taking threats in space seriously and continued resistance to reform. The Space Corps proposal was, in large part, spurred on by the development of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force and the Russian Space Forces.[90][88]

The Space Corps proposal gained new life, when at a June 2018 meeting of the National Space Council, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to begin the necessary processes to establish the U.S. Space Force as a branch of the Armed Forces.[91] On 19 February 2019, Space Policy Directive 4 was signed, initially calling for the placement of the U.S. Space Force within the Department of the Air Force, before later creating and transferring the service to the Department of the Space Force.[92]

Legislative provisions for the Space Force were included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law on 20 December 2019. The Space Force was established as the sixth armed service branch, with Air Force General John "Jay" Raymond, the commander of Air Force Space Command and U.S. Space Command, becoming the first chief of space operations.[93] On 14 January 2020, Raymond was officially sworn in as chief of space operations by Vice President Mike Pence.[94]

Launch of AEHF-6 on an Atlas V rocket, which was the first space launch for the U.S. Space Force as an independent service

On 20 December 2019, Air Force Space Command was redesignated as the United States Space Force and its commander, General John W. Raymond was sworn in as its first chief of space operations. On 20 December, its first organizational change occurred when Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett redeisgnated Air Force Space Command's Fourteenth Air Force as Space Operations Command.[95] All of Air Force Space Command's 16,000 active duty and civilian personnel were assigned to the new service.[96]

Major organizational changes during the first year included replacing its space wings and operations groups with deltas and garrisons on 24 July 2020 and announcing its field command structure, merging wings and groups into deltas and numbered air forces and major commands into field commands. The Space Force announced that its field commands would be Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command, and Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM). Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional) absorbed former Air Education and Training Command and Air Combat Command space units, preparing for the activation of STARCOM. Space Delta 2 became the space domain awareness delta, replacing the 21st Operations Group; Space Delta 3 became the space electronic warfare delta, replacing the 721st Operations Group; Space Delta 4 became the missile warning delta, replacing 460th Operations Group and absorbing the ground-based missile warning radars of the 21st Operations Group; Space Delta 5 became the command and control delta, replacing the 614th Air Operations Center; Space Delta 6 became the cyberspace operations delta, replacing the 50th Network Operations Group; Space Delta 7 became the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance delta, replacing Air Combat Command's 544th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group; Space Delta 8 became the satellite communication and navigation warfare delta, replacing the 50th Operations Group; Space Delta 9 became the orbital warfare delta, replacing the 750th Operations Group; the Peterson-Schriever Garrison became responsible for the base administration of Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Thule Air Base, New Boston Air Force Station, and Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, replacing the 21st Space Wing and the 50th Space Wing; the Buckley Garrison became responsible for the base administration of Buckley Air Force Base, Cape Cod Air Force Station, Cavalier Air Force Station, and Clear Air Force Station, replacing the 460th Space Wing.[97] On 21 October 2020, Space Operations Command was established as its first field command, replacing headquarters Air Force Space Command. The first Space Operations Command (redesignated Fourteenth Air Force) was redesignated as Space Operations Command-West and its air and space lineage was split between the Air Force and the Space Force.[98]

Unveiling of the flag of the United States Space Force on 15 May 2020 in the Oval Office

On 3 April 2020, Chief Master Sergeant Roger A. Towberman, formerly command chief of Air Force Space Command, transferred to the Space Force as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Space Force, becoming its second member and first enlisted member. On 18 April 2020, 86 graduates of the United States Air Force Academy became the first group of commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Space Force, becoming the 3rd to 88th members of the Space Force.[99][100] On 16 July 2020, the Space Force selected 2,410 space operations officers and enlisted space systems operators to transfer to the Space Force, with the first back recommissioning or reenlisting on 1 September. The Space Force swore in its first 7 enlisted recruits on 20 October 2020, graduating basic military training on 10 December 2020 and its first Officer Training School candidates commissioned on 16 October.[101][102] The Space Force also commissioned its first astronaut, with Colonel Michael S. Hopkins, the commander of SpaceX Crew-1, swearing into the Space Force from the International Space Station on 18 December 2020.[42][43][44]

During the first year major symbols were also unveiled, with the Seal of the United States Space Force approved on 15 January 2020 and was revealed on 24 January 2020, the flag of the United States Space Force debuted at signing ceremony for the 2020 Armed Forces Day proclamation on 15 May 2020, the Space Force Delta symbol and motto of Semper Supra released on 22 July 2020, and the official service title of Guardian announced on 18 December 2020.[103][104][105][106] The first Air Force instillations were renamed to Space Force instillations on 9 December 2020, with Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station renamed as Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[107]

In September 2020, the Space Force and NASA signed a memorandum of understanding formally acknowledging the joint role of both agencies. This new memorandum replaced a similar document signed in 2006 between NASA and Air Force Space Command.[108][109] On October 20, 2020, the first seven guardians enlisted directly into the Space Force.[110]

The Space Force's first combat operations as a new service included providing early warning of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force missile strikes against U.S. troops at Al Asad Airbase on 7 January 2020 through the 2nd Space Warning Squadron's Space Based Infrared System.[111] The Space Force also monitored Russian Space Forces spacecraft which had been tailing U.S. government satellites.[112]