Space force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, established on December 20, 2019, through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, with the mission to organize, train, and equip combat-ready forces for space operations to secure U.S. and allied interests in space.[1][2][3] Operating under the Department of the Air Force, the USSF focuses on space domain awareness, satellite protection, orbital warfare, and deterrence against adversarial threats, particularly from China and Russia, whose space programs have demonstrated capabilities for anti-satellite weapons and counter-space operations.[4][5] Since its inception, the service has rapidly expanded its infrastructure and personnel, achieving milestones in launching resilient satellite constellations and integrating space capabilities into joint military exercises, though it faces ongoing challenges in budgeting for proliferation-resistant architectures amid escalating great-power competition.[6][7] Controversies have centered on its creation's perceived urgency and cost, with critics questioning redundancy with Air Force functions, yet proponents argue its standalone status enables focused investment in space superiority essential for modern warfare, where space assets underpin communications, navigation, and intelligence.[8][9] By 2025, the USSF has grown to emphasize resilient architectures and international partnerships to counter hypersonic threats and orbital congestion, underscoring space as a contested warfighting domain.[10][11]United States Space Force
Establishment and Historical Context
The United States military's involvement in space dates to the mid-20th century, with initial efforts focused on missile development and satellite launches under the Air Force's oversight. In 1954, the Air Force established the Western Development Division, the first dedicated space organization, led by General Bernard Schriever to oversee intercontinental ballistic missile and space projects.[12] By 1982, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was activated to centralize space operations, including satellite control, launch support, and missile warning, serving as the primary entity for space warfighting capabilities until the Space Force's creation.[13] Proposals for a dedicated space service emerged periodically amid escalating threats from adversaries like China and Russia, who developed anti-satellite weapons and space-based reconnaissance systems. In September 1985, United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) was formed as a unified combatant command to coordinate joint military space activities across services, but it was disestablished in 2002 and its functions absorbed by United States Strategic Command.[14] Renewed concerns over space domain vulnerabilities, including electronic warfare and orbital debris risks, prompted President Donald Trump to direct the establishment of a separate Space Force branch in 2018, framing space as a contested warfighting domain requiring specialized focus.[15] The United States Space Force was formally established on December 20, 2019, when President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 into law, creating it as the sixth armed service branch nested within the Department of the Air Force.[16] This legislation transferred approximately 16,000 personnel, along with space-related organizations, units, and assets from AFSPC and other Air Force components to the new service, aiming to streamline acquisition, training, and doctrine for space superiority.[17] The move addressed long-standing inefficiencies in treating space as a support function rather than a core operational domain, with initial funding allocated at $15.5 billion within the broader $738 billion defense authorization.[18] USSPACECOM was simultaneously reestablished in its 2019 iteration to provide operational command over Space Force contributions to joint missions.[14]Organizational Structure and Leadership
The United States Space Force operates as a separate military service under the Department of the Air Force, with its headquarters providing strategic direction and policy guidance.[19] The organizational structure features a four-tiered hierarchy: the headquarters staff, three primary field commands responsible for mission execution, deltas or garrisons as operational units, and squadrons as the basic tactical elements.[19] This design reduces command layers compared to other services, emphasizing agility in space domain awareness, operations, and sustainment, with three echelons focused on warfighting needs.[20] Leadership is headed by the Chief of Space Operations (CSO), General B. Chance Saltzman, who serves as the principal military advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[21] The Vice Chief of Space Operations, General Shawn N. Bratton, assists the CSO in managing the force, while the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, John F. Bentivegna, represents enlisted guardians.[21] The CSO oversees the development, acquisition, and employment of space forces, ensuring integration with joint and coalition operations.[21] The three field commands align with core functions: Space Operations Command (SpOC) conducts delta-level space operations, including satellite control and combat training; Space Systems Command (SSC) handles acquisition, development, and sustainment of space systems; and Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) focuses on education, testing, and tactics development.[19] SpOC, for instance, manages global space warning and missile tracking networks.[22] SSC, commanded by Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant, delivers resilient capabilities to counter emerging threats.[21] Additional elements, such as the Space Warfighting Analysis Center, support data-driven decision-making across the force.[19] This structure, formalized since 2020, enables rapid adaptation to contested space environments.[23]Core Missions and Operational Doctrine
The core missions of the United States Space Force encompass organizing, training, and equipping personnel to deliver space capabilities to the Joint Force and the nation, including satellite communications, navigation warfare, missile warning and tracking, space domain awareness, orbital warfare, space electromagnetic warfare, space battle management, and launch operations.[24] These missions support the overarching objective of securing the nation's interests in, from, and to space, as articulated in the service's mission statement updated on September 6, 2023.[25] Space domain awareness involves monitoring objects in orbit to detect threats and maintain situational awareness, while offensive and defensive operations focus on protecting U.S. assets and countering adversary capabilities.[26] Operationally, the Space Force doctrine emphasizes space as a warfighting domain, prioritizing the achievement of space superiority through control activities that ensure freedom of action for friendly forces while denying it to adversaries.[27] Capstone doctrine released on April 4, 2025, codifies the employment of spacepower to support joint force success, including the presentation of ready forces under the commander of space forces.[28] The Space Warfighting framework, published March 2, 2025, provides a counterspace structure aligned with the theory of competitive endurance, integrating offensive and defensive measures to counter threats like anti-satellite weapons and electronic warfare.[29] Doctrine publications such as Space Doctrine Publication 3-0 outline operations to protect U.S. interests, subject to civilian authority, with sustainment and mission command principles ensuring resilient force employment. This doctrine shifts from prior support-oriented roles to integrated warfighting, recognizing space's contested nature amid peer competitors' advancements in denial capabilities.[30] Lines of effort include fielding combat-ready forces, fostering a guardian ethos, and partnering for joint operations, as detailed in strategic guidance.[26] Implementation involves commands like Space Operations Command for execution and Space Training and Readiness Command for preparation, ensuring doctrinal principles translate to tactical proficiency.Key Capabilities and Technological Developments
The United States Space Force maintains core capabilities in space domain awareness (SDA), encompassing the detection, tracking, characterization, and attribution of objects in orbit to counter threats in a congested and contested environment. Mission Delta 2 executes SDA operations, leveraging ground- and space-based sensors to identify vulnerabilities and enable responsive maneuvers.[31] The ATLAS system, achieving operational acceptance on September 30, 2025, integrates advanced software to accelerate data processing and decision-making for SDA, reducing timelines from days to minutes in dynamic scenarios.[32] An optical sensing system launched in May 2025 further enhances passive monitoring of contested space, providing real-time data on adversary activities without active emissions.[33] Missile warning represents another foundational capability, supported by resilient overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) architectures designed to detect hypersonic and advanced ballistic threats. The Next-Generation OPIR program, budgeted at approximately $14 billion, deploys geosynchronous satellites with upgraded infrared sensors to track faster-burning missiles and counter-space weapons, with the first satellite completing environmental testing in August 2025 and launch delayed to 2026.[34][35][36] Complementing this, the FORGE enterprise ground system integrates legacy Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) data with Next-Gen OPIR feeds, ensuring continuity amid ground vulnerabilities.[37] Technological advancements emphasize proliferated low-Earth orbit (LEO) architectures and digital integration to enhance survivability and responsiveness. The Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), comprising over 150 satellites, delivers integrated missile warning, tactical communications, and optical cross-links, with rapid deployment targeted to outpace adversary disruptions.[38] The Space Force plans to launch more than 100 satellites in 2025 alone, doubling unclassified operational assets to support these networks.[39] Artificial intelligence and autonomy are being fused to automate threat analysis and edge computing, as outlined in the Fiscal Year 2025 Data and AI Strategic Action Plan, which prioritizes governance, literacy, and innovation to process vast orbital datasets in real time.[40][41] Research into advanced propulsion, solar cells, and power systems, awarded in September 2024, aims to extend satellite endurance against electronic warfare and kinetic threats.[42]Notable Operations and Achievements
The United States Space Force has conducted missile warning operations using Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) satellites and ground-based radars, exemplified by early detection of Iranian missile launches against U.S. bases in Iraq on January 7, 2020, which enabled personnel to take protective measures and avert casualties.[43] This capability, managed by Mission Delta 4, supports global threat monitoring through constellations like the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS).[44] Space launch operations, overseen by Space Launch Deltas 30 and 45, have achieved multiple milestones, including the first tactically responsive launch (TacRL-2) on June 13, 2021, demonstrating rapid deployment of experimental payloads.[43] In 2024, these deltas supported the inaugural Vulcan Centaur launch on January 8, the final Delta IV Heavy mission (NROL-70) on April 9, and the Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) satellite deployment on April 11 for enhanced environmental monitoring.[43] Additionally, on June 5, 2024, Space Launch Delta 45 facilitated the Atlas V Starliner Crew Flight Test, marking the first astronaut launch from a Space Force installation since 1968.[43] In space domain awareness (SDA), Mission Delta 2 integrates sensors to track objects in orbit, with the ATLAS system achieving operational acceptance on September 30, 2025, to improve real-time situational awareness in contested environments.[45] The Space Force also advanced SDA through the Space Development Agency's Tranche 0 constellation, launching 10 satellites on April 2, 2023, and completing the 27-satellite network with four more on February 14, 2024.[43] Multinational cooperation via Operation Olympic Defender, initiated under U.S. Space Command, integrates spacepower among allies including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States to enhance resilience and deter aggression.[46] Germany joined formally on October 11, 2024, and a U.S.-U.K. on-orbit maneuver in September 2025 demonstrated coordinated satellite operations.[47][48] Human spaceflight integration advanced with Colonel Nick Hague becoming the first active-duty Guardian to launch to the International Space Station on September 29, 2024, as part of NASA's Crew-8 mission, conducting research and operations during a six-month expedition.[49] The Space Force continues to sustain critical assets like the GPS constellation, providing positioning, navigation, and timing for joint forces worldwide.[50]