EXPLAINED: US Space Force Turns Two. Know Its Goals, Importance & What It Has Achieved So Far

The establishment of the USSF was the result of widespread recognition of space as a national security imperative, and the fact that near-peer competitors could be a potential threat in space.

New Delhi: The United States Space Force (USSF) becomes two years old on Monday, December 20. The US Space Force, which is the newest branch of the US Armed Forces, was established on December 20, 2019 when the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was signed into a law. The NDAA specifies the annual budget of the US Department of Defense. 

The establishment of the US Space Force created the first new branch of the armed services in 73 years. It was the result of widespread recognition of space as a national security imperative, and the fact that near-peer competitors could be a potential threat in space.

Mission Of The US Space Force

The US Space Force is responsible for organising, training, and equipping 'Guardians' to conduct global space operations that enhance the way the nation's joint and coalition forces fight. Members of the USSF are now  officially called 'Guardians'. It also offers decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.  

The US Space Force equips space forces in order to protect the US and allied interests in space, and to provide space capabilities to the joint force. It is a military service focused solely on pursuing superiority in the space domain.

Developing 'Guardians', acquiring military space systems, maturing the military doctrine for space power, and organising space forces to present to the nation's Combatant Commands are the responsibilities of the organisation. This started a year back, after the then Vice President Mike Pence made an announcement at an event celebrating the military branch’s one year anniversary. 

General John W. "Jay" Raymond leads the USSF. He was appointed as the Chief of Space Operations by the then President of the United States, Donald Trump. Chief Master Sergeant Roger Towberman has been named as the senior enlisted advisor. 

Just like the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the US Space Force Headquarters and Office of the Chief of Space Operations is located in the Pentagon.

The U.S. Space Force's motto, “Semper Supra,” is Latin for “Always Above” – representing the branch's protection of U.S. satellites and international space.

Why Is Space Force Important?

Space capabilities have played a major role in determining the way a modern military conducts operations, for the last 60 years. The US military is faster, better connected, more informed, precise, and lethal because of space, the USSF said on its website.

Space has become essential to the security and prosperity of people, which makes it necessary to have a branch of military dedicated to the defense of space, just like other branches of the military. Almost every part of the day-to-day lives of people are governed by space, which is an important part of the economic system. Unfettered access to space is vital to national defense, and this is where the US Space Force comes into picture.

Since space is no longer free from conflict, and potential adversaries are seeking ways to deny the United States access to space capabilities fundamental to the country's way of war and modern way of life, the Guardians of the US Space Force have been called to protect and defend American interests.

The adversaries have developed an array of threats, both on Earth and in orbit, which continue to grow in scope, scale, and complexity, and the US Space Force ensures that the nation's forces, allies, and the world never experience a day without space. The US Space Force Guardians serve across the globe, working to design, acquire, field, test, operate, and defend the critical space systems which the world is dependent upon.

They stand ready, every day, "Always Above", the newest military branch said on its website.

The Air Force Space Command was redesignated as the US Space Force in 2019. The personnel who belonged to the Air Force Space Command can be assigned to the US Space Force. In September 2021, the US Space Force announced that 670 active-duty soldiers, sailors, and Mariners have been selected for being transferred into the newest military branch in 2022, according to reports. 

Capabilities Of The US Space Force & Partnership With NASA

The new, independent US Space Force maintains and enhances the competitive edge of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) in space, while adapting to new strategic challenges. 

The different Space Force locations are: the Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado; the Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; the Patrick Space Force Base, Florida; the Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; the Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado; and the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. 

The force's predecessors in the air force have had a cooperative relationship with NASA for a long time. The USSF supports NASA launches out of Kennedy Space Center, to include range support and rescue operations from Task Force 45.

The 45th Space Wing was redesignated as Task Force 45 for the launch of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 Mission. The launch marked the first time astronauts lifted off from the American soil in nine years. Task Force 45 Detachment 3 was the unit of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base tasked with recovering the capsule and rescuing the astronauts as quickly as possible, in case of a launch abort, in-flight abort, or in-orbit abort. 

NASA and the US Space Force also collaborate for areas such as space domain awareness, and planetary defense operations. NASA astronauts can also become a Space Force member. Colonel Michael S Hopkins, the commander of SpaceX Crew-1 mission, was commissioned into the Space Force from the International Space Station on December 18, 2020.

The US Space Force helps conduct spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases, which provide services, facilities, and range safety control for the conduct of DOD, NASA, and commerical space launches. 

The United States Space Force's ground-based and space-based systems monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. A global network of space surveillance sensors provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world. In order to protect US space assets from hostile attacks, it is very important to maintain space superiority.

Achievements Of The US Space Force

In September 2021, Chief of Space Operations, General John W. “Jay” Raymond issued a list of “firsts” and achievements across the US Space Force’s brief history to illustrate how the nation’s newest military service is “purpose built” for success at a time when the nation “can no longer take space for granted", according to a statement by the US Space Force. 

“Rather than growing to gain new functions, we’ve empowered Guardians to be effective; re‐organized them to be efficient and equipped them to use our small size as an enduring advantage,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. 

Raymond highlighted three new Guardians, each of whom is a recent graduate from the Air Force Academy, to underscore his point about the kind of person Space Force needs and seeks. 

In his keynote address at the Air Force Association Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, Raymond said that space is clearly a warfighting domain, and if deterrence were to fail, the US Space Force is going to have to fight and win the battle for space superiority, according to the statement. “Let me be clear; we don’t want to fight in space. We want to deter that from happening," he was quoted as saying.

Raymond said there has been a singular focus for the nation’s newest military service — being lean and fast, innovative and unified, since the Space Force was established on December 20, 2019. 

"We have been building this service from Day One purpose built to compete, deter and win against a growing threat,” he said.

He said that the reasons and the need are evident. 

Raymond said that space was once considered benign, and was once a place largely uninhabited by every nation except the United States and Russia (and the Soviet Union). However, today it is far more crowded and dangerous, and there are currently 30,000 objects and space junk orbiting the Earth at high speed, he explained. He added that more than 70 nations are currently operating satellites of varying sizes and capabilities.

“I am also convinced that adversaries are increasingly using space for their own long‐range kill‐chains. So the ability to protect our own capability and generate space superiority despite attack is critical. Space underwrites the success and survivability of our Joint force," Raymond said.

Explaining that the threat is real, he said that difficulty in attribution, combined with the tremendous speed of the space domain, provides ample incentive for an adversary to initiate attack in space.

He said that China has deployed satellites with a robotic arm that could be used in the future to “grab” other satellites, and Russia has a co-orbital anti-satellite weapon. He referred to it as a “nesting doll satellite” that “is specifically designed to kill U.S. satellites”.

“Bottom line, we must protect space,” he said. “It underpins every instrument of national power — diplomatic, information, military and economic," he added.

Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command, and Space Training and Readiness Command are the three major commands of the US Space Force. The number of active-duty Guardians currently stands at 6,490 and 6,206 civilians.