US Space Force: New Frontiers In Combat Readiness (2024)

The United States Space Force's (USSF) mission in and to space is to look after the nation's interests in space and protect those interests from strategic competitors. While the Space Force is the newest branch of the United States military, the Department of Defense has been working on deploying satellites and how to protect them for years. The money the United States has spent on launching assets into space has increased American military effectiveness in many ways.

Today, the United States's armed forces are faster, better, more informed, and more lethal than at any other time in history. The same holds true for ordinary Americans who rely on satellites to provide information about the weather, carry television broadcasts, and allow them to make telephone calls to any corner of the globe. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based radio navigation system that provides time and geolocation information to anyone with a GPS receiver.

Space assets play a vital role in protecting the United States

The ability to protect assets in space underscores American national security and economic well-being, while adversaries like the Chinese and Russians are working hard to disrupt the nation's space capabilities. The United States' assets orbiting the Earth are fundamental to modern warfare and communications, allowing people in even the most remote areas to have telephone coverage and access to the Internet.

Image: NASA

It is of the utmost importance that these space assets continue to grow in scope and scale and are protected to ensure that the American military and its allies can access satellite information whenever they need it.

What are the capabilities of the United States Space Force (USSF)?

The United States Space Force (USSF) is a separate branch of the United States military headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Unlike the United States Marine Corps, which is overseen by the Department of the Navy, the Space Force is organized under the Department of the Air Force.

While the Space Force has its main base of operations in the Pentagon, the rest of the service is spread across 18 states and in Greenland; the Space Force has bases in the following locations:

• Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, Colorado
• Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Schriever Space Force Base in Falcon, Colorado
• Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California
• Patrick Space Force Base in Satellite Beach, Florida
• Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California
• Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida
• Norad Space Force Station in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Cape Cod Space Force Station in Sagamore, Massachusetts
• Cavalier Space Force Station in Cavalier, North Dakota
• Clear Space Force Station in Clear, Alaska
• Kaena Point Space Force Station in Kaena Point, Hawaii
• New Boston Space Force Station in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
• Maui Space Force Station in Maui, Hawaii
• Pituffik Space Base in Qaanaaq, Greenland

The USSF is trained to protect American and allied space assets

The job of the United States Space Force (USSF) is to organize, train, and equip personnel to help protect American and allied interests in space. One mission that comes under Space Force operations is the launching of rockets from Florida and California. The bases in Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base command and control all Department of Defense satellites. The United States military and its allies use satellites to provide continuous global coverage and secure communications in theater.

Other Space Force base facilities provide real-time weather and navigation information to the United States Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps. The bases also monitor ballistic missile launches to guard against a surprise attack from an adversary. Using a global network of space-based sensors, Space Force personnel know precisely the location of all satellites orbiting the Earth. The ability to maintain superiority in space is considered vital in protecting the nation from a hostile attack.

How the United States Space Force (USSF) came to be

The USSF's origins can be traced back to the end of WWII, when the commander of the Army Air Forces, General Henry H. Arnold, assigned General Bernard Schriever the job of working with the scientific community. Schriever was tasked with identifying and developing new technologies that could benefit the Air Force. In the aftermath of the Second World War, each department of the military started its own missile and rocket programs.

Photo: NASA | Wikimedia Commons.

Using information taken from Nazi Germany's rocket development program under the guidance of Wernher von Braun, the United States Army launched America's first rocket into space. On January 31, 1958, the United States joined what would become a Space Race with the Soviet Union. Space exploration was left to the military until the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958.

In 1985, the United States decided that military space programs should be under a single operational commander. This, together with President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, led to a rebirth of space operations during the 1980s.

As the United States military began considering space-based laser weapons, the Government Accountability Office recommended that the USAF establish a separate space service. Following the Iraq War in 1991, military leaders all agreed that space power was as vital to the nation as land, sea, and air power.

Photo: USAF | Wikimedia Commons

In 2000, New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith called for establishing a separate Space Force branch of the military to ensure that space received its fair share of resources within the Department of Defense. Commanded by General Jay Raymond, the United States Space Force (USSF) officially became a separate branch of the United States military on December 20, 2019.