United States Space Force

"Semper Supra" redirects here. For the official march of the United States Space Force, see Semper Supra (march).

Not to be confused with United States Space Command.

The United States Space Force (USSF) is the United States Armed Forces' space service and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is one of two independent space forces in the world.^{[citation needed]}

United States Space Force
Seal
Founded	20 December 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-20)
Country	United States
Type	Space force
Size	9,400 military personnel[1]
Part of	United States Armed Forces Department of the Air Force
Headquarters	The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.[2]
Motto(s)	Semper Supra "Always above"[3]
March	"Semper Supra"[4]
Anniversaries	20 December
Equipment	See spacecraft and space systems
Engagements	As Air Force Space Command Grenada – Operation Urgent Fury Lebanese Civil War Libya – Operation El Dorado Canyon Persian Gulf – Operation Ernest Will Panama – Operation Just Cause Somalia – Operation United Shield Haiti – Operation Uphold Democracy Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Endeavor Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Guard Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Endeavor Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Forge Southwest Asia – Operation Vigilant Sentinel Southwest Asia – Maritime Intercept Operations Southwest Asia – Operation Southern Watch Southwest Asia – Operation Northern Watch Southwest Asia – Operation Desert Fox Haiti – Operation Secure Tomorrow Persian Gulf War Kosovo Air Campaign Kosovo Defense Campaign Iraq Campaign[5] As U.S. Space Force Global War on Terrorism Afghanistan Campaign Inherent Resolve Campaign[5]
Website	spaceforce.mil spaceforce.com
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense	Lloyd Austin
Secretary of the Air Force	Frank Kendall III
Chief of Space Operations	Gen B. Chance Saltzman
Vice Chief of Space Operations	Gen Michael Guetlein
Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force	CMSSF John F. Bentivegna
Insignia
Flag
Logo
Emblem

The United States Space Force traces its origins to the Air Force, Army, and Navy's military space programs created during the beginning of the Cold War. US military space forces first participated in combat operations during the Vietnam War and have participated in every U.S. military operation since, most notably in the Persian Gulf War, which has been referred to as the "first space war." The Strategic Defense Initiative and creation of Air Force Space Command in the 1980s marked a renaissance for military space operations.

Proposals for a U.S. Space Force were first seriously considered during the Reagan Administration as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Congress began exploring establishing a Space Corps or Space Force in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The idea of establishing a Space Force was resurrected in the late 2010s in response to Russian and Chinese military space developments, resulting in the Space Force's establishment on 20 December 2019 during the Trump Administration.

The Space Force is organized as part of the Department of the Air Force alongside the U.S. Air Force, its coequal sister service. The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian secretary of the Air Force, while the U.S. Space Force is led by the chief of space operations. The U.S. Space Force's status as part of the Department of the Air Force is intended to be an interim measure towards a fully independent Department of the Space Force, led by a civilian secretary of the Space Force.

Secure our Nation's interests in, from, and to space.

— Mission statement of the United States Space Force^[6]

The Space Force's statutory responsibilities are outlined in 10 U.S.C. § 9081 and originally introduced in the United States Space Force Act, the Space Force is organized, trained, and equipped to:

1. Provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space;
2. Conduct space operations; and
3. Protect the interests of the United States in space.

The Department of Defense further defines the specified functions of the Space Force to:^[7]

1. Provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space.
2. Provide prompt and sustained space operations.
3. Protect the interests of the United States in space.
4. Deter aggression in, from, and to space.
5. Conduct space operations.

The Space Force further breaks down its mission into three core functions, which align directly to its mission statement to "secure our Nation's interests in, from, and to space:"

1. Space Superiority (in space)
2. Global Mission Operations (from space)
3. Assured Space Access (to space)

Space Superiority

Concept of a future space interception

Space superiority defends against space and counterspace threats by protecting spacecraft in space or protecting against attacks enabled by adversary spacecraft, requiring that the Space Force establish control of the domain. The Space Force describes that at a time and place of the United States' choosing it must be able to assure continued use of spacecraft and deny adversaries use of their spacecraft or space-enabled capabilities.^[6]

Mission that support space superiority include orbital warfare, electromagnetic warfare, and space battle management.^[6]

Global Mission Operations

Missile warning radar at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland

Global mission operations integrates joint functions across all domains (land, air, maritime, space, cyberspace) on a global space. Through space, the U.S. military and its allies can see, communicate, and navigate. Global mission operations also protect U.S. forces on Earth through early warning of incoming missiles and other types of attack. The Space Force describes global mission operations as allowing the rest of the U.S. military to defend the air, land, and sea.^[6]

Missions that support global mission operations include missile warning, satellite communications, and positioning, navigation, and timing.^[6]

Assured Space Access

USSF Falcon Heavy launch from Kennedy Space Center

Assured space access ensures that the Space Force can deploy and sustain equipment in outer space. This includes space launches as well as controlling and steering spacecraft out of the way of oncoming space debris to avoid collisions. The Space Force describes assured access to space as being able to make sure it can continue launching and conducting space operations 24/7.

Missions supporting space access include launch, range control, cyber, and space domain awareness.^[6]

Main article: History of the United States Space Force

The U.S. military in space

In the long haul, our safety as a nation may depend upon achieving "space superiority." Several decades from now, the important battles may not be sea battles or air battles, but space battles, and we should be spending a certain fraction of our national resources to ensure that we do not lag in obtaining space supremacy.

— Major General Bernard Schriever, 19 February 1957^[6][8]

Launch of Explorer 1, America's first satellite, by the U.S. Army in 1958

The beginnings of the U.S. Space Force can be traced to the Aftermath of World War II. General Henry H. Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, tasked General Bernard Schriever to integrate with the scientific community to identify and develop technologies that could be beneficial for the new U.S. Air Force in the next global conflict.^[6] Identifying the importance of space, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force each started their own separate space and rocket programs. The U.S. Air Force created the first military space organization in the world, establishing the Western Development Division in 1954 and placing it under the command of General Schriever.