119-605: The High Frontier Honor Guard is the official United States Space Force ceremonial unit assigned to Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado . It renders honors to local officials and veterans during ceremonies and parades. In conducting its duties, it has an area of responsibility that consists of the most counties in Colorado and 8 in the western part of neighboring Kansas . Outside of Peterson SFB, it also recruits guardians from Schriever Space Force Base at
238-418: A ballistic missile launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels; this successful interception occurred outside of Earth's atmosphere thus making it the first recorded practical instance of space warfare during an active conflict. On April 14, 2024, Iran launched more than 120 ballistic missiles at Israel , making it the first large-scale incident in which a space weapon was used. From 1985 to 2002, there
357-622: A Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force in the mid-term, which would evolve into a Department of the Space Force in the long-term. The Rumsfeld Commission expected the transition from Air Force Space Command to a fully independent Space Force to occur in between 2006 and 2011. Air Force leadership reacted extremely poorly to the Rumsfeld Commission's recommendations. The day after
476-533: 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
595-414: A U.S. national security satellite. Such “inspector” satellites can be armed with lasers to provide non-destructive interference or deadly kinetic interceptors. While these co-orbital systems provide more utility when compared to more direct and destructive options, their advantages are contingent on being maneuverable and inconspicuous. Given the increasing paranoia surrounding co-orbital anti-satellite, it
714-399: A commission to examine the organization and management of national security space. The Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization, better known as the 2001 Space Commission or the Rumsfeld Commission, released its report in 2001. The Rumsfeld Commission noted the strong risk of a "Space Pearl Harbor," harking back to Imperial Japan's surprise attack on
833-453: A full color U.S. flag , sparking jokes about fighting on the forest moon of Endor from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi , while its distinctive service dress drew comparisons to Colonial Fleet uniforms from Battlestar Galactica or Starfleet uniforms from Star Trek . While the Space Force noted that its camouflage combat uniform was appropriate since space operators deploy to combat zones on
952-548: A fully independent Space Force by 2011. While the United States' focus shifted from space to counterterrorism, the Russian Armed Forces and Chinese People's Liberation Army realized the military benefits that could be gleaned from space, as well as the incredible reliance the United States put on its space forces. Throughout the 2000s, Russian and Chinese space and counterspace capabilities began to increase. In 2001,
1071-543: 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. Missions that support global mission operations include missile warning , satellite communications , and positioning, navigation, and timing . Assured space access ensures that
1190-632: A joint military space doctrine. In July 2019, Emmanuel Macron "called for a space high command to protect" France's satellites. This was followed by a plan released by military officials. French Defense Minister, Florence Parly , announced a space weapons program that would move the country's space surveillance strategy towards active protection of its assets in space, e.g., satellites. The projects outlined include: patrolling nano-satellites swarms, ground-based laser systems to blind spying satellites, and machine guns mounted on satellites. Starlink , SpaceX 's large low Earth orbit satellite constellation,
1309-449: A larger but less hardened target (such as a city). Though a common device in science fiction, there is no publicly available evidence that any such systems have actually been deployed by any nation. Weapon systems that fall under this category include lasers , linear particle accelerators or particle-beam based weaponry , microwaves and plasma-based weaponry . Particle beams involve the acceleration of charged or neutral particles in
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#17328559343231428-461: A military responsibility until the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created in 1958. The military shifted from conducting their own space exploration programs to supporting NASA's, providing the agency with its astronauts and space launch vehicles , while also conducting astronaut recovery and supporting space launches from the Air Force's Eastern Range . The Air Force
1547-789: A more naval framework. Still others suggest forces more like space marine : highly mobile forces doing interplanetary and interstellar war but most of the conflict happens in terrestrial environments. The main sub-genres of the Space warfare in science fiction thematic genre are space opera , Military and Space Western . Though sword and planet stories like Finisterre universe by C. J. Cherryh might be considered, they rarely feature such technologies. These three genres often intertwine and have themes that are common to all. Written Space Westerns are often based directly on existing established scifi space opera franchises with expanded universes like Star Wars and Star Trek, including Warhammer 40,000 :
1666-506: A new military service...would be a dramatic step. Perhaps a "Space Corps" would be a step toward a Space Force. Maybe the Air Force will preempt these dramatic changes by truly becoming the "Space and Air Force." The idea of a separate service for space originated in the 1960s. Military space activities were briefly consolidated under the Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1958, loosely centralizing space activities under
1785-638: A satellite knock out whose detonation alone caused more than 40,000 new chunks of debris with a diameter > 1 cm and a sudden increase in the total amount of debris in orbit. The PRC is reported to be developing "soft-kill" techniques such as jamming and vision kills that do not generate much debris. Most of the world's communications systems rely heavily on the presence of satellites in orbit around Earth. Protecting these assets might seriously motivate nations dependent upon them to consider deploying more space-based weaponry, especially in conflicts involving advanced countries with access to space. Since 2017,
1904-414: A separate military department, to be known as the Department of the Space Force. The Space Force is currently organized as a service under the Department of the Air Force , more closely mirroring the concept of a Space Corps rather than a fully independent Space Force. Senator Bob Smith , the 2001 Rumsfeld Commission, and 2008 Allard Commission each envisioned that a Space Corps would first be created under
2023-507: A single organization. The Air Force, Army, and Navy feared that it would evolve into a "fourth service" for space, before authorities were returned to the service. The first direct call for a U.S. Space Force occurred in 1982, prior to Air Force Space Command 's establishment or the Strategic Defense Initiative 's public announcement. As part of a report recommending the acceleration U.S. space-based laser weapon development,
2142-413: A stream towards a target at extremely high velocities, the impact of which creates a reaction causing immense damage. Most of these weapons are theoretical or impractical to implement currently, aside from lasers which have been used to blind satellites and are starting to be used in terrestrial warfare. That said, directed-energy weapons are more practical and more effective in a vacuum (i.e. space) than in
2261-496: A study calling for its transfer to the Space Force. Orbital warfare Space warfare is combat in which one or more belligerents are in outer space . The scope of space warfare includes ground-to-space warfare , such as attacking satellites from the Earth ; space-to-space warfare , such as satellites attacking satellites; and space-to-ground warfare , such as satellites attacking Earth-based targets. Space warfare in fiction
2380-663: A target area centered around the static location of the missile itself. Co-orbital systems come with a few potential kill mechanisms: in guided kinetic vehicles, like the Multiple Kill Vehicle , or in the form of a satellite that can release a kinetic interceptor or a cloud of debris. The first co-orbital system, Istrebitel Sputnikov , was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and reportedly utilized one of these mechanisms. There are allegations that Russia continues to test co-orbital ASAT weapons as recently as 2020. In 2020
2499-590: A weapon) are designed to jam, sabotage, and outright destroy enemy satellites, and conversely to protect friendly satellites against such attacks. To this end, the US (and presumably other countries) is researching groups of small, highly mobile satellites called "microsats" (about the size of a refrigerator) and "picosats" (approximately 1 cubic foot (≈27 litres) in volume) nimble enough to maneuver around and interact with other orbiting objects to repair, sabotage, hijack, or simply collide with them. Another theorized use involves
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#17328559343232618-445: Is Alastair Reynolds ' Revelation Space universe , which explores combat at relativistic speed . Robert A. Heinlein 's Starship Troopers is perhaps one of the best-known and earliest explorations of the " space marine " idea. Space-based vehicular combat is portrayed in many movies and video games, most notably Star Wars , Stargate , Halo , Descent , Gundam , Macross , Babylon 5 , and Star Trek . Games such as
2737-455: Is an historic event and a strategic imperative for our Nation. Space has become so important to our way of life, our economy and our national security that we must be prepared as a Nation to protect it from hostile actions. As the U.S. Space Force was established on 20 December 2019, General Jay Raymond , commander of U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command , became its first member and chief of space operations . Air Force Space Command
2856-481: Is far harder. And, though not a problem for orbital kinetic weapons, any directed energy weapon would need huge amounts of electricity. So far the most practical batteries are lithium , and the most practical means of generating electricity in space is photovoltaic modules , which are currently only up to 30% efficient, and fuel cells, which have limited fuel. Current technology might not be practical for powering effective lasers, particle beams, and railguns in space. In
2975-430: Is hard to believe that the major players in space will fail to notice the deployment of “research” satellites. Space warfare is a staple of science fiction , where it is shown with a wide range of realism and plausibility. Fictional space warfare includes anticipated future technology and tactics, and fantasy- or history-based scenarios in a scifi setting. Some portray a space military as like an air force ; others depict
3094-453: Is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites. The Air Force Space Command has indicated that their defensive focus will be on "Disaggregated Space Architectures". Anti-satellite attacks, especially ones with kinetic kill vehicles , can form space debris which can stay in orbit for many years and could interfere with future space activity or in a worst case trigger Kessler syndrome . In January 2007 China did
3213-511: Is often a core world, such as a planet relatively close to a galaxy's supermassive black hole. Characterization can vary wildly from malevolent forces attacking sympathetic victims to apathetic bureaucracies to more reasonable entities focused on social progress, and anywhere in between. Scifi writers generally posit some form of faster-than-light drive in order to facilitate interstellar war . Writers such as Larry Niven have developed plausible interplanetary conflict based on human colonization of
3332-596: Is one of two independent space forces in the world. 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
3451-403: Is thus sub-genre and theme of science fiction , where it is portrayed with a range of realism and plausibility. In the real world, international treaties are in place that attempt to regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of space weapon systems , especially nuclear weapons . On October 31, 2023, during a Yemeni missile strike on Israel , Israel 's Arrow 2 system intercepted
3570-759: The Homeworld series have interesting concepts for space warfare, such as 3D battle formations, plasma-based projectors that get their energy from a ship's propulsion system, and automated uncrewed space combat vehicles. Other series, such as Gundam , prominently show vehicular combat in and among many near future concepts, such as O'Neill cylinders . Fictional galaxies with space warfare are far too many to list, but popular examples include Star Trek (in all of its forms), Star Wars , Halo , Stargate , Warhammer 40,000 , Babylon 5 , Buck Rogers , Flash Gordon , Battlestar Galactica , Mass Effect , Freespace and many comic book franchises. Video games often touch
3689-619: The United States Space Force Act , the Space Force is organized, trained, and equipped to: The Department of Defense further defines the specified functions of the Space Force to: 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:" Space superiority defends against space and counterspace threats by protecting spacecraft in space or protecting against attacks enabled by adversary spacecraft, requiring that
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3808-960: The ASM-135 ASAT program are the so-called direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons. These weapons are usually either ballistic or anti-ballistic interceptor missiles , which ascend directly from Earth to intercept their target and have been adapted to the anti-satellite role. To date, four countries have demonstrated their ability to launch these weapons, the USA, the PRC, India, and Russia, but so far none have conducted such an attack on another country’s satellites. Direct-ascent ASATs leverage existing technologies and launch platforms to neutralize both space-based and ground-based targets. This option tends to be highly destructive and indiscriminate as any attack will produce space debris , which can indiscriminately affect other satellites in similar orbits. While this option comes with
3927-560: The Air Force Research Laboratory . The Space Force also began incorporating space personnel transfers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps. In 2022, it the Naval Satellite Operations Center and Army's Satellite Operations Brigade transferred to the Space Force, putting satellite communications under a single service for the first time in history. In 2023, it assumed responsibility for
4046-491: 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. 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
4165-500: The Department of the Navy . The Space Force's three field commands (FLDCOM) are purpose-built for specific activities, aligning to the various institutional responsibilities to organize, train, and equip Guardians. Component field commands (C-FLDCOM) coordinate and integrate space forces into planning and current operations within unified combatant commands . Direct reporting units (DRU) are hubs of innovation and intelligence expertise within
4284-522: The Explorer program , which launched the first American satellite into orbit in 1958. In tandem with the effort to achieve superior spaceflight capability over the other, the United States and the Soviet Union began to develop space warfare capabilities. Early efforts to conduct space warfare were directed at space-to-space warfare, as ground-to-space systems were considered to be too slow and too isolated by Earth's atmosphere and gravity to be effective at
4403-489: The Government Accountability Office recommended the U.S. Air Force be reorganized as the U.S. Aerospace Force or that an independent U.S. Space Force be created. Ultimately, a Congressional proposal to rename the U.S. Air Force as the U.S. Aerospace Force and speculation that President Ronald Reagan may announce the creation of a U.S. Space Force accelerated Air Force plans to create a space command within
4522-720: The Israel–Hamas War , Israel intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile with its Arrow 2 missile defense system. According to Israeli officials, the interception occurred above Earth's atmosphere above the Negev Desert , making it the first instance of space combat in history. On November 21, 2024, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russia launched a new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile , striking Dnipro . Ukraine's air force initially claimed an intercontinental ballistic missile (range greater than 5,500 km)
4641-585: The Kosmos 1408 and putting the International Space Station at risk. The Space Force is organized into a headquarters staff that provides leadership and guidance for the force; field commands that are responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians; deltas that support field commands and are specialized by mission area; and squadrons which specialize in acquisitions, cyberspace operations, engineering, intelligence, and space operations. At
4760-638: The Russian Space Forces were reestablished as an independent arm and in 2007, China conducted a destructive anti-satellite missile test causing the single largest space debris generating event in history. In the aftermath of the Chinese ASAT test, Congress tasked the Allard Commission to reevaluate the Defense Department's space organization and management. The Allard Commission noted that
4879-595: The Secretary of Defense to conduct a periodic review to determine when to recommend the President seek legislation to establish the Department of the Space Force. Following the Space Force's establishment there have been a number of calls to rename the Department of the Air Force to the Department of the Air and Space Forces to reflect its composition of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. Congress previously explored renaming
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4998-527: The Space and Missile Systems Center from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Space Command and establishing the National Security Space Institute . Ultimately, the Rumsfeld Commission's recommendations remained unfulfilled because of the higher priority placed on counterterrorism after the September 11 attacks , canceling plans for a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force or
5117-472: The U.S. State Department claimed that a Russian satellite, Cosmos-2519, exhibited behavior “inconsistent” with its intended mission. While in orbit, Kosmos -2519 deployed a smaller satellite, which Russian state media claimed: “conducted autonomous flight, a change in orbit, and a satellite inspection before returning to the base station”. Another incident back in 2019 involved two Russian satellites, Kosmos 2542 and 2543, one of which appeared to begin following
5236-714: The United States Air Force has run an annual military exercise called "Space Flag" at Peterson Space Force Base , which involves a red team simulating attacks on U.S. satellites. Robert Zubrin , aerospace engineer and advocate for human exploration of Mars , stated that anti-satellite weapons capabilities of nations increases, space infrastructures must be able to defend itself using other satellites that can destroy such weapons. Or else, he states, satellite-based navigation , communications and reconnaissance capabilities would be severely limited and easily influenced by adversaries. The modern incarnations of
5355-499: The Vietnam War , with Air Force weather and communications spacecraft supporting ground, sea, and air operations. During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, satellite communications were used to conduct command and control for the first time, while Operation El Dorado Canyon and Operation Just Cause marked the first time that major U.S. forces incorporated information from space-based intelligence systems. The Persian Gulf War marked
5474-759: The unified combatant commands , assuming space component responsibility from the U.S. Air Force. One of the primary reasons the Space Force was created was to consolidate space forces from across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy. In 2020, the Space Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional) was established to form the foundation for Space Training and Readiness Command and incorporate Air Force space units spread across Air Combat Command and Air Education and Training Command , while Space Systems Command incorporated space acquisitions activities across Air Force Materiel Command , although, notably it did not incorporate space research and development conducted by
5593-572: 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
5712-533: 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. The Space Force's statutory responsibilities are outlined in 10 U.S.C. § 9081 and originally introduced in
5831-503: The Air Force did successfully field the Program 437 anti-satellite weapon system, which used nuclear Thor missiles to intercept enemy spacecraft. Although most military space forces were organized under the Air Force, they were still fragmented within several different major commands. Recognizing rapid growth of space forces and the need to centralize them under one command, the Air Force established Air Force Space Command in 1982. This
5950-450: The Air Force or a separate Department of the Space Force to unify national security space. It took until 2017 for members of Congress to act on the recommendations of the Rumsfeld and Allard commissions to create a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force. Representatives Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper unveiled a bipartisan proposal to establish a Space Corps within the Department of
6069-570: The Air Force's major commands. It also consolidated Air Force wings and groups into mission deltas, a formation roughly equivalent to an Army Brigade Combat Team or Air Force expeditionary wing, and space base deltas (briefly known as garrisons), equivalent to an Army garrison or Air Force air base wing. It also began to rename former Air Force bases and station to Space Force bases and station, starting with Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station . It also established component field commands to serve as Space Force components at
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#17328559343236188-461: The Air Force, however it experienced significant opposition from the Air Force and Defense Department, failing in the Senate. However, the proposal was resurrected in 2018 when President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the creation of a Space Force and directed the Defense Department to reverse its opposition and develop plans for its establishment. The Trump Administration plan for the U.S. Space Force
6307-530: The Army's Joint Tactical Ground Station , putting all space-based missile warning under the Space Force. The Space Force's first significant combat action occurred less than a month after its establishment, providing missile warning when Iran launched missile strikes against U.S. troops at Al Asad Airbase on 7 January 2020. In 2021, the Russian Federation conducted an anti-satellite weapons test, destroying
6426-520: The Commission was publicly released Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael E. Ryan declared "an independent Space Force or Corps was not warranted for at least another 50 years." General Ryan doubled down over the following year, stating that a Space Force should only be considered once space operations moved beyond Earth orbit. Despite the Air Force's hostility to the idea of a Space Corps or Space Force, they did meet some recommendations by transferring
6545-399: The Department of the Air Force as an interim measure as it grew into a fully independent Space Force. In 2019, Space Policy Directive-4 directed the Space Force be initially established under the Department of the Air Force as the first step towards an independent Department of the Space Force, which would take over the entire space mission from the Department of the Air Force. It also directed
6664-484: The Department of the Air Force to the Department of the Aerospace Force in 1981 and congressional efforts were made in the 2000s to rename the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps, however both of these proposals failed under opposition from the Defense Department. Space Force advocates have also called for the creation of an undersecretary of the Air Force for space . This provision
6783-670: The Earth alongside the rest of the joint force and it saved money, it did not have a similar response for its service dress uniform, which were described as a "futuristic-looking" design by General Raymond. The Space Force's seal and delta insignia were also incorrectly derided as a rip-off of Star Trek' s Starfleet logo, despite being first adopted as a space symbol by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in 1962, four years before Star Trek first aired on television in 1966. Star Trek actor William Shatner settled
6902-521: The Earth's atmosphere, as in the atmosphere the particles of air interfere with and disperse the directed energy. Nazi Germany had a project for such a weapon, considered a wunderwaffe , the sun gun , which would have been an orbital concave mirror able to concentrate the sun's energy on a ground target. In the context of space-based deployment, directed-energy weapons can be distinguished as either “high-powered” or “dazzler.” High-powered satellite-operated lasers are intended to deal irreversible damage to
7021-567: The Earth, one sees the position of the target slightly more than a second earlier. Thus even a laser would need ~1.28 seconds, meaning a laser-based weapon system would need to lead a target's apparent position by 1.28×2 = 2.56 seconds. A projectile from a railgun recently tested by the US Navy would take over 18 hours to cross that distance, if it travels in a straight line at a constant velocity of 5.8 km/s along its entire trajectory. Three factors make engaging targets in space very difficult. First,
7140-621: The Persian Gulf War being coined "the first Space War." While U.S. space forces supported all U.S. military operations in the 1990s, Operation Allied Force marked the first use of Global Positioning System -aided munitions in a conflict, ushering in a new era of precision bombing. Following the September 11 attacks , U.S. space forces mobilized to respond as part of the Global War on Terrorism Operation Enduring Freedom , Operation Iraqi Freedom , and Operation Inherent Resolve . Creating
7259-512: The Space Force and the Center for Strategic and International Studies has also proposed moving missile defense into the Space Force. The Army also continues to maintain a cadre of Functional Area 40 space operations officers, although over 85% indicated they would transfer to the Space Force if able. The Army is also maintaining the 1st Space Brigade , however the RAND Corporation has conducted
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#17328559343237378-455: 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 . In
7497-506: 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. Mission that support space superiority include orbital warfare , electromagnetic warfare , and space battle management . Global mission operations integrates joint functions across all domains (land, air, maritime, space, cyberspace) on
7616-534: The Space Force, providing new ideas or deep knowledge about highly specialized issues. While the Space Force's headquarters is in Washington, D.C., the rest of the service is spread across the United States and abroad, across 18 states and territories and 46 bases and installations as of 2024. As the United States Space Force matures, and as national security requires, it will become necessary to create
7735-400: The U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1941. It was extremely critical of the Air Force's treatment of space, with few witnesses expressing confidence that the Air Force would address the requirement to provide space capabilities to the other services or move beyond treating space as just a support capability for air operations. The most significant recommendation of the Rumsfeld Commission was the creation of
7854-489: The United States demonstrated its conventional ASAT capabilities by launching an ASM-135 ASAT from an F-15 to shoot down the Solwind P78-1 , an American research satellite, from its 555-kilometre (345 mi) orbit. The People's Republic of China successfully tested (see 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test ) a ballistic missile-launched anti-satellite weapon on January 11, 2007. This resulted in harsh criticism from
7973-454: The United States has toyed with kinetic bombardment , i.e. orbiting magazines of non-explosive projectiles to be dropped onto hardened targets from low Earth orbit . Kinetic weapons have always been widespread in conventional warfare—bullets, arrows, swords, clubs, etc.—but the energy a projectile would gain while falling from orbit would make such a weapon rival all but the most powerful explosives. A direct hit would presumably destroy all but
8092-527: The United States of America, Britain, and Japan. The U.S. developed an interceptor missile, the SM-3 , testing it by hitting ballistic test targets while they were in space. On February 21, 2008, the U.S. used an SM-3 missile to destroy a spy satellite, USA-193 , while it was 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles ) above the Pacific Ocean. Japan fields the U.S.-made SM-3 missile, and there have been plans to base
8211-530: The United States was able in the 1980s to develop ground-to-space laser anti-satellite weapons. None of these systems are known to be active today; however, a less powerful civilian version of the ground-to-space laser system is commonly used in the astronomical technique of adaptive optics . In 1984, the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) was proposed. It was nicknamed Star Wars after the popular science fiction franchise Star Wars . In 1985,
8330-665: The United States would introduce the U-2 spy plane in 1956. It was thought, at the time of its introduction, that the plane’s service ceiling of 24,000 metres (80,000 ft) would render it immune to Soviet aircraft, missiles, and radar. That was the case until the 1960 U-2 incident , where a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense Forces’ S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. Three years before
8449-416: The United States' dependence on space had increased, but comparatively little...[had] been achieved to make them more secure." It also noted, despite the recommendations of the Rumsfeld Commission, authority and responsibility for national security space remained fragmented and unfocused. Like the 2001 Rumsfeld Commission, the 2008 Allard Commission recommended establishing a Space Corps within the Department of
8568-454: The United States, PRC, Russia, and France, are actively pursuing these capabilities. Space warfare is likely to be done at far larger distances and speeds than combat on Earth. The vast distances pose big challenges for targeting and tracking, as even light requires a few seconds to cover hundreds of thousands of kilometers. For example, if trying to fire on a target at the distance of the Moon from
8687-411: The ballistic missiles are fragile and two, chemical lasers project missile killing energy (3,000 kilometers). This meant that lasers could be put into space to intercept a ballistic missile . Systems proposed ranged from measures as simple as ground and space-based anti-missiles to railguns , space based lasers, orbital mines and similar weaponry. Deployment of these systems was seriously considered in
8806-448: The benefit of leveraging existing technologies and a certain element of surprise, as an attack cannot be detected until a missile has exited its silo, there are significant downsides. Firstly, there is the cost disparity of using an ICBM or ABM to kill a small and inexpensive satellite. Additionally, these missiles are not designed to send payloads out to geocentric orbit, as such they can only affect targets in low earth orbit and only in
8925-585: The context of the Strategic Defense Initiative , the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States worked on a project for expandable space-based x-ray lasers powered by a nuclear explosion, Project Excalibur , a project canceled in 1992 for lack of results. SDI projects included Zenith Star , using the Alpha chemical laser. General William L. Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness
9044-641: The design of the Space Shuttle had been guided by a requirement to deliver a payload- such as a bomb- over Russia and return to land after a single orbit. This may have been a confusion based on requirements 3A and 3B for the shuttle's design, which required the craft to be able to deploy or retrieve an object from a polar orbit in a single pass. Both the Soviets and the United States developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. While early efforts paralleled other space-to-space warfare concepts,
9163-410: The early 1960s, the U.S. military produced a film called Space and National Security which depicted space warfare. Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and test-fired a cannon to test space station defense. This was considered too dangerous to do with a crew on board, however, so the test was conducted after the crew had returned to Earth. A 1976 Soviet report suggested that
9282-431: The establishment of a Space Force if the Air Force could not, or would not, embrace spacepower. An independent Department of the Space Force would ensure that space got its fair share of resources within the Defense Department, with Senator Smith calling for the creation of a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force as a bridge to a fully independent Space Force. In 2000, Senator Smith led Congress in establishing
9401-457: The existing military space forces across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. While the Navy and Air Force gave up all of their space forces, the greatest resistance to transferring space forces came from the Army. While the Army transferred its satellite communications and missile warning assets, there are still calls for it to transfer 1st Space Brigade and 100th Missile Defense Brigade to the Space Force. The Heritage Foundation has called for
9520-403: The extension of conventional weaponry into orbit for deployment against ground targets. Though international treaties ban the deployment of nuclear missiles outside the atmosphere, other categories of weapons are largely unregulated. Traditional ground-based weapons are generally not useful in orbital environments, and few if any would survive re-entry even if they were, but as early as the 1950s,
9639-585: The first CORONA reconnaissance mission, recovering 3,000 feet of film from space and imaged 1.65 million square miles of the Soviet Union's territory. Concerned about the development of the Soviet Union's own space forces, the Air Force advocated for a military human spaceflight program. General Curtis LeMay described strong parallels between World War I aviation and 1960s space operations, noting how quickly flying evolved from chivalric and unarmed reconnaissance flights to combat efforts designed to destroy enemy air superiority . General LeMay believed that it
9758-515: The first time that military space forces were unleashed to their fullest extent. Over sixty spacecraft provided 90% of theater communications and command and control for a multinational army of 500,000 troops, weather support for commanders and mission planners, missile warning of Iraqi Scud missile launches, and satellite navigation for air and land forces moving across a featureless desert. The decisive role that space forces played directly enabled an overwhelming Coalition victory and led to
9877-480: The foundation on which this unit stands. I realize that only through hard work and training will I achieve distinction. I am unique – second to none – best of the best and above the rest. United States Space Force As U.S. Space Force 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
9996-475: The headquarters level, the Space Force is led by the Chief of Space Operations , a four-star general who reports to the Secretary of the Air Force and provides military advice to civilian leadership of the Department of Defense and the White House . Alongside the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force combine to form the Department of the Air Force, like how the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps combine to form
10115-520: The incident, in 1957, a modified R-7 rocket carried the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 , into an orbit hundreds of kilometers above sea level, notably beyond the reach of any existing weapons system. While Sputnik 1 held no military value, only transmitting radio signals back to Earth for three weeks, its launch sparked the beginning of the Space Race . This spurred the United States to hasten and re-emphasize its space programs, culminating in
10234-636: The issue, recalling that Starfleet's logo was chosen as an homage to the Space Force's direct predecessors in military space operations. The service also chose the title "Guardian" to represent its personnel, becoming its counterpart to Soldier and Airman. The term "Guardian" has a long history within Air Force Space Command, originally serving as part of its motto: "Guardians of the High Frontier." The Space Force also adopted Semper Supra as its official motto and unveiled its service song , sharing
10353-520: The land-based version in Romania and Vietnam. In March 2019, India shot down a satellite orbiting in a low Earth orbit using an ASAT missile during an operation code named Mission Shakti , thus making its way to the list of space warfare nations, establishing the Defense Space Agency the following month, followed by its first-ever simulated space warfare exercise on July 25 which would inform
10472-464: The largest artificial object in Earth orbit, measures slightly over 100m at its largest span. Other satellites can be vastly smaller, e.g., Quickbird measures only 3.04m. External ballistics for stationary terrestrial targets is enormously complicated—some of the earliest analog computers were used to calculate firing solutions for naval artillery, as the problems were already beyond manual solutions in any reasonable time—and targeting objects in space
10591-501: 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. The beginnings of the U.S. Space Force can be traced to the Aftermath of World War II . General Henry H. Arnold , commander of
10710-400: The mid-1980s under the banner of the Strategic Defense Initiative announced by Ronald Reagan in 1983, using the term "evil empire" to describe the Soviets (hence the popular nickname "Star Wars"). If the Cold War had continued, many of these systems could potentially have seen deployment: the United States developed working railguns, and a laser that could destroy missiles at range, though
10829-420: The most hardened targets without the need for nuclear weapons. Such a system would involve a 'spotter' satellite, which would identify targets from orbit with high-power sensors, and a nearby 'magazine' satellite to de-orbit a long, needle-like tungsten dart onto it with a small rocket motor or just dropping a very big rock from orbit (such as an asteroid, cf. Ivan's hammer ). This would be more useful against
10948-410: The most popular space opera military miniature wargame which spawned successful spin-off media : novels , video-games and on-going live adaption based on books by Dan Abnett . Both kinetic and directed energy weapons are often seen, along with various military space vessels. E. E. Smith 's Lensman is an early example, which also inspired the term space opera due to the grandiose scale of
11067-485: The power requirements, range, and firing cycles of both were impractical. Weapons like the space-based laser was rejected, not just by the government, but by universities, moral thinkers, and religious people because it would have increased the waging of the arms race and questioned the United States' role in the Cold War. With the end of the Cold War and continued development of satellite and electronics technology, attention
11186-633: The request of their unit leadership. Bugles Across America is partnered with the honor guard to ensure a live bugler is present at events. The creed is as follows: I am a member of the United States Air Force High Frontier Honor Guard. I represent an elite team of dedicated men and women charged to honor our nation, its flag and those who have served our nation well. As a member of this team, I will strive to excel while performing my duty. I will dedicate myself toward principles of honor, integrity, commitment and dedication –
11305-580: The same name. The decision on if the Space Force's ranks would mirror the Army, like the Air Force and Marine Corps, or the Navy, generated significant controversy, with Congressman Dan Crenshaw introducing an amendment which would force the Space Force to pattern itself after the Navy's rank structure. Ultimately, the amendment failed and the Space Force followed an Air Force/Army/Marine Corps-based rank scheme. The Space Force began to officially incorporate former Air Force Space Command units in 2020 and 2021, standing up field commands to serve as counterparts to
11424-538: The sensitive parts, mainly optics, on satellites and have the advantage of being difficult to attribute to an actor. Though, it is difficult to confirm the success of an attack. Dazzlers are not intended to deal irreversible damage but rather disable a target satellite. It maintains the same advantages and disadvantages as the high-powered variant. Though such systems not yet functional, the US Defense Intelligence Agency notes that several actors, including
11543-458: The service gained its first astronaut when Colonel Michael S. Hopkins swore into the Space Force aboard the International Space Station on 18 December 2020. The Space Force also began to build out its culture and identity, however, it experienced several public relations challenges due to its perceived ties to science fiction and links to President Trump. The Space Force adopted the Army and Air Force's OCP Uniform with blue stitching and
11662-519: The service. Following the Persian Gulf War , the Air Force and Defense Department declared that "space power has now become as important to the nation as land, sea, and air power." Despite this public pronouncement, a growing section of Congress believed that space was being shortchanged and used only as an auxiliary to air operations. In 1998, drawing parallels between the challenges faced by post-World War I Army Aviators and post-Gulf War Air Force space operators, Senator Bob Smith publicly called for
11781-560: The so-called Starfish Prime test, took place in 1962 when the United States exploded a ground-launched nuclear weapon in space to test the effects of an electromagnetic pulse . The result was a deactivation of many then-orbiting satellites, both American and Soviet. The deleterious and unfocused effects of the EMP test led to the banning of nuclear weapons in space in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. (See high-altitude nuclear explosion .) In
11900-458: The stories. Orson Scott Card 's Ender's Game series is a notable example in that it makes a conjecture as to what sort of tactics and training would be needed for war in outer space. Other scifi authors have also delved into the tactics of space combat, such as David Weber in his Honorverse series, and Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in their Mote in God's Eye series. A more recent example
12019-466: The subject; the Wing Commander franchise is a prototypical example. Few games try to simulate realistic distance and speed, though Independence War and Frontier: Elite II both do, as does the board game Attack Vector: Tactical . Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning fictional empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of such an empire. Said empire's capital
12138-634: The time. The history of active space warfare development goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project, which consisted of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance. One early test of electronic space warfare,
12257-430: The vast distances mean that an error of even a fraction of a degree in the firing solution can mean a miss by thousands of kilometers. Second, spaceflight involves tremendous speeds by terrestrial standards—a geostationary satellite moves at 3.07 km/s, and objects in low Earth orbit move at ~8 km/s. Third, though distances are huge, targets remain relatively small. The International Space Station , currently
12376-528: The wholesale transfer of United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command , to include the 100th Missile Defense Brigade and the 1st Space Brigade . The 100th Missile Defense Brigade operates the Ground Based Interceptor system and is located at Schriever Space Force Base , Vandenberg Space Force Base , and Fort Greely . Former Air Force space officers have called to move the missile defense and intercontinental ballistic missile mission to
12495-580: The world, establishing the Western Development Division in 1954 and placing it under the command of General Schriever. The Army followed a year later, creating the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under the leadership of General John Bruce Medaris and Dr. Wernher von Braun . The Army led the United States into space, launching the first American spacecraft, Explorer 1 , on 31 January 1958. Space exploration continued to be
12614-679: Was a United States Space Command , which in 2002 merged with the United States Strategic Command , leaving the United States Space Force (formerly Air Force Space Command until 2019) as the primary American military space force . The Russian Space Force , established on August 10, 1992, which became an independent section of the Russian Armed Forces on June 1, 2001, was replaced by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces starting December 1, 2011, but
12733-582: Was extensively used for warfare following Russia's invasion of Ukraine after the country's previous satcom provider Viasat were cyberattacked in the first few days of the invasion. Starlink was used for defense and attacks on Russian positions, with Starlink terminals being namely strapped on strike drones and sea drones . SpaceX vowed and acted against the use of their Starlink service for active warfare, while Russia launched cyberattacks against Starlink and threatened of striking Starlink satellites directly in retaliation. On October 31, 2023, as part of
12852-512: Was focused on space as a supporting theatre for conventional warfare. Currently, military operations in space primarily concern either the vast tactical advantages of satellite-based surveillance , communications , and positioning systems or mechanisms used to deprive an opponent of said tactical advantages. Accordingly, most space-borne proposals which would traditionally be considered "weapons" (a communications or reconnaissance satellite may be useful in warfare but isn't generally classified as
12971-438: Was followed by the establishment of the joint United States Space Command in 1985, aligning Air Force Space Command, Naval Space Command , and Army Space Command under a single operational commander. These two moves, along with the Strategic Defense Initiative 's establishment by President Ronald Reagan , led to a renaissance of military space operations in the 1980s. Space forces were first used in combat operations during
13090-627: Was immediately redesignated as United States Space Force, however, the command and its 16,000 Airmen technically remained part of the Air Force. On 3 April 2020, Chief Master Sergeant Roger A. Towberman became the Space Force's second member and was appointed its first senior enlisted leader . The service gained its first new second lieutenants when 86 members of the U.S. Air Force Academy class of 2020 became Space Force members 3 through 88 on 18 April 2020. Currently serving Air Force space operators began to become Space Force members in September 2020 and
13209-483: Was included in the Trump Administration's original legislative proposal to give the Space Force additional independence and autonomy but was removed by the Senate. There have also been numerous calls from inside and outside the Space Force for it to have its own public affairs and judge advocate generals, independent from Air Force. When the Space Force was established in 2019 it was intended to consolidate
13328-571: Was naive to believe that the same trends were not expected to be seen in space and must be prepared for. Although the Air Force made significant progress in developing the X-20 spaceplane , Manned Orbiting Laboratory , and Blue Gemini , opposition from the Department of Defense prevented operational fielding. The Air Force was also forced to cancel Project SAINT , a satellite inspector with satellite neutralization capabilities, when details were leaked to The New York Times in 1962. Despite these setbacks,
13447-548: Was outlined in Space Policy Directive-4, initially organizing the U.S. Space Force as part of the Department of the Air Force, but with plans to build out a separate Department of the Space Force in the future. In 2019, Congress passed legislation establishing the U.S. Space Force as a military service under the Department of the Air Force. On 20 December 2019, the National Defense Authorization Act
13566-419: Was recognized as the lead military service for space by the early 1960s, with the Army and Navy operating in supporting roles. Early military space efforts were focused on developing and fielding spacecraft to accomplish national objectives, with a focus on weather , reconnaissance and surveillance , communications , and navigation . On 18 August 1961, the Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office launched
13685-791: Was reestablished as a component of the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 1, 2015. In 2019, India conducted a test of the ASAT missile ; this made out the fourth country with that capability. In April of the same year, the Indian Armed Forces established the Defence Space Agency . During the early Cold War, a survivable reconnaissance asset was considered highly valuable. In a time before satellites, this meant building an aircraft that could fly higher or faster, or both, compared to any interceptor that would try to bring it down. Notably,
13804-429: Was reported to see six sequential vertical flashes, each comprising a cluster of up to six individual projectiles. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the use of the intermediate-range weapon "concerning and worrying". In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, the Soviet Union and the United States theorized, designed and in some cases tested a variety of weaponry designed for warfare in outer space. Space warfare
13923-462: Was seen primarily as an extension of nuclear warfare , and many theoretical systems were based around the destruction or defense of ground and sea-based missiles . Space-based missiles were not attempted due to the Outer Space Treaty , which banned the use, testing or storage of nuclear weapons outside the Earth's atmosphere. When the U.S. gained "interest in utilizing space-based lasers for ballistic missile defense", two facts emerged. One being that
14042-399: Was signed into law and the U.S. Space Force was established as the sixth armed service, meeting the Rumsfeld and Allard commissions' recommendations to create a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force, but still falling short of creating a separate Department of the Space Force. We are at the dawn of a new era for our Nation’s Armed Forces. The establishment of the U.S. Space Force
14161-595: Was used, and Ukrainian media initially reported it was an RS-26 Rubezh ICBM with range 5,800 km. The US and Russia confirmed it was intermediate-range (3,000–5,500 km), but the Pentagon stated it was based on the RS-26 ICBM. It was fired from the Astrakhan region 700 km away. Analysts stated the missile used a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV), likely marking their first use in combat. The night attack
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