By: Julia Seibert
When the US Space Force was signed into law in 2019, it was supposed to be a grandiose affair; this was, after all, the first new US military branch established since the Air Force in 1947. Instead, it became instant fodder for memes. The internet made quick work of the fledgling force’s allusions to sci-fi, the apparent inanity of its mission, and its uniforms – which, despite servicemembers usually sitting behind a computer screen, are a combat-ready camouflage. The antics even inspired the 2020 Steve Carell TV series Space Force.
But once the dust settled, it was clear that the Space Force reflected a very real trend: the growing role of space as a warfighting domain and its ongoing militarization. Geopolitical competition coupled with developments in technology have made Earth’s orbit a hot asset – one that the US badly wants to control. Only five years after its creation, the Space Force’s budget has already surpassed NASA’s. And while the space force military branch’s activities remain in Earth’s orbit for the time being, the role it plays in the next era of exploration could become a deciding factor in humanity’s future in space.
Space Force History
The Space Force, as it’s known today, is relatively young, but its history goes back to the 1950s. Following the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, several US military branches turned their focus to space. The civilian NASA, established in 1958, took on two of them, resulting in the Air Force being left with the military leadership for space. But the system was anything but simple; other branches continued developing space technology, such as communications and navigation systems, and the military side frequently collaborated with NASA on its rockets. Over the years, the US military space scene went through multiple iterations until the 1980s, when the US Space Command was established as a central combatant unit for space; the Air Force Space Command was to be the main executing body, while the Naval and Army Space Commands also provided space capabilities. But while the idea of a purpose-designed Space Force floated around throughout the next few decades, it never fully gained ground until concerns surrounding space debris and adversarial activity in orbit led to the creation of the Space Force in December 2019.
What Does the Space Force Do?
There are a few different ways the Space Force carries out its mission. One is simply watching and waiting, using both ground- and space-based systems to track objects in orbit. These might include bits of debris or defunct satellites, enemy machines (in fact, some of the SF’s sats can creep up on its adversaries in orbit to get a closer look), or even track missiles. Another one of the branch’s responsibilities is providing military communications through several fleets of purpose-built satellites and upkeeping the GPS navigation system. Finally, several divisions of the SF are dedicated to defensive and offensive space operations. The exact nature of these programs and their weapons is unsurprisingly classified, but don’t involve any actual orbital fighting or kinetic kill methods, as explosions would cause thousands of bits of debris that can harm American satellites and space stations. Rather, the aim is to ‘blind and deafen’ enemy satellites with electronic weapons (as reported by The New York Times).
Much of the SF’s hardware is decades old; as the youngest military branch, it inherited many existing systems (as well as staff and locations) previously operated by other entities. For example, the branch took over responsibility for the GPS constellation, several fleets of military communications satellites, a handful of co-orbital spy satellites (spying on other orbital objects rather than Earth), and a long list of ground-based space surveillance systems. More recently, the SF has been turning to the US’s flourishing commercial space sector for new hardware, often led by the Space Development Agency (SDA), its division for cutting-edge projects. Here, the strategy is to deploy constellations comprised of scores of smaller satellites rather than a few big ones, making the system more resilient to enemy attacks; if one sat is disabled, it doesn’t mean the end for the whole system.
What Are The Mission and Objectives of the Space Force?
Modern warfare, intelligence, and defense rely heavily on space; satellites are used for spying and surveillance, military communications, navigation, and more. But the machines are fragile. Out there in orbit, satellites are sitting ducks, easily taken out by electronic warfare, cyberattacks, or even physical blows (though the latter is an extreme and rare occurrence). As such, one of the easiest ways to disable both a country’s military and very way of life is knocking out a few of its satellites. Especially for the US and its thousands of satellites, orbit is a bit of an Achilles’ heel.
So the US Space Force’s (USSF) mission isn’t just to keep an eye on orbit; it’s also in charge of building up, protecting its own military space assets, and developing offensive capabilities. Its official mission declares its responsibility for ‘organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision-makers military options to achieve national objectives’. The SF’s official functions, as laid out by the US Department of Defense (DoD), are to: provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space; provide prompt and sustained space operations; protect the interests of the United States in space; deter aggression in, from, and to space; and conduct space operations.
The vague description isn’t an accident; though it’s the smallest, the SF is the most secretive arm of the US’s military, with a larger chunk of its budget reserved for classified projects than any other branch (as reported by The New York Times). What’s clear, though, is that its primary mission is to give the US unparalleled control of the space domain (which, as of today, still refers mainly to Earth’s orbit). The SF’s slogan – Sempre Supra, or “Always Above” – pretty much sums it up.
U.S.S.F. Organizational Structure
Like many militaries, the Space Force’s structure follows a hierarchical structure. The branch is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Air Force, which itself is overseen by the DoD. The SF has three main divisions called field commands. Each field command contains several Deltas, units of around 400 staff that specialize in a certain purpose or function. Each Delta consists of several squadrons. It’s also important to highlight that the Space Force is not the same as the US Space Command, another unit of the DoD. This office handles space operations stemming from any military branch, including (but not limited to) the USSF.
Confusingly, one of the USSF’s field commands is called the Space Operations Command (SpOC), which is responsible for supporting US combat forces from space. Some of its Deltas include Delta 2 (space domain awareness – tracking satellites in orbit – and weather monitoring), Delta 3 (electromagnetic warfare), Delta 4 (missile tracking), Delta 6 (cyber operations), Delta 7 (intelligence and surveillance), Delta 8 (satellite communications), and Delta 9 (orbital warfare).
There’s also the Space Systems Command (SSC), another field command tasked with developing, acquiring, deploying, and upkeeping the branch’s space systems, and is also in charge of its launch sites. It consists of several Deltas responsible for managing and acquiring specific systems – like missile warning or satellite communications – as well as Space Launch Deltas 45 and 30, who oversee all launches from the US’s East and West coasts, respectively.
The final field command is the Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), which handles training and the development of strategies and tactics. Its Deltas include Delta 1 (training), Delta 13 (space education), Delta 10 (doctrine and wargaming), Delta 11 (range and aggressor—essentially combat simulation), and Delta 12 (testing and evaluating systems for readiness).
Besides the three main field commands, there is also the Space Development Agency (SDA), managed by the USSF though it often reports to the Department of the Air Force. It’s responsible for acquiring tech from the commercial sector, making use of the low cost, innovation, and rapid timelines it can offer. Its sister office is the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, which specializes in acquiring ‘timely and operationally relevant space superiority and resilience capabilities’.
Current Operations and Activities
Since it’s such a secretive entity, it’s impossible to say what exactly the US Space Force is up to in orbit. What’s known is that it operates a constantly growing fleet of satellites in orbit whose specialties range from navigation to communication to spying to weaponry – though the branch keeps mum about the latter. The SF’s biggest constellation is the GPS system, consisting of 31 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It’s also responsible for several smaller military communications constellations further out in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), missile detection systems, and a couple of satellites designed to peek at other machines nearby. Meanwhile, the Space Force is working with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) – another secretive US agency specialized in spy satellites – to develop SilentBarker, an orbital system capable of detecting threats in GEO (as reported by SpaceNews). On the ground side of things, the USSF oversees a sizeable group of ground stations sprinkled around the country and some of its allies, used primarily for missile detection and monitoring the orbital environment. The branch’s most mysterious project is undoubtedly flying the Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane; this unmanned vehicle is operated by Delta 9 – responsible for orbital warfare – and spends years in orbit apparently conducting highly classified experiments.
With a little help from its friends in the commercial sector, the Space Force is hoping to bring the US’s already staggering dominance of space to another level. The SDA, for example, is contracting a flurry of commercial providers to develop a hundreds-strong small satellite missile detection constellation in LEO. These aren’t just easier and cheaper to launch than bigger satellites headed to GEO but provide better and faster coverage of the globe. The SF is also working on so-called tactically responsive launches with small rocket companies, who can be ready to launch within days. The first of these missions, Victus Nox, had Firefly Aerospace successfully launch a SF payload with 24 hours’ notice.
Has the Space Force Developed Any Technological Advancements?
The USSF’s history is riddled with technological advancements; for example, its early missiles helped the development of NASA’s rocket programs. But since it’s such a young agency, there’s not all that much that has occurred since its establishment (and if it did, it’d likely be classified). Perhaps the biggest known achievement of the branch is outsourcing more tech to the commercial sector, allowing it to move faster and launch cheaper – in other words, expanding the military-industrial complex of space. And the proof of concept had already been provided by NASA during the last decade; its investments in companies like SpaceX have a lot to do with the dominance of space the US enjoys today. The USSF is already using this method for its missile detection system and responsive launch systems and is eyeing a similar approach for plans of refueling or servicing satellites in orbit.
How To Join the Space Force?
Even though there’s not much physical combat involved once you’re in, the SF’s recruitment process is pretty run-of-the-mill US military procedure. It does, however, look slightly different whether you intend to join as an enlisted member or an officer. For enlistment, potential recruits must be US citizens between the ages of 17 and 42 and hold a high school diploma or GED equivalent. They must then take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), a test that determines which area of work is most suitable. For most USSF jobs, applicants must score higher than 60 (compared to the Air Force’s minimum of 31). Candidates are also assessed on ‘moral and physical standards’ before entering almost two months of basic training. Those hoping to join as an officer require higher qualifications (though these vary depending on the job in question), and the testing/selection process is slightly higher stakes. If that doesn’t appeal, candidates can join as civilians, for which the process is just a simple job interview. However, since the branch is much smaller than the rest of the US’s armed forces, the chances of getting selected are lower.
Challenges and Future Directions
The USSF frequently cites the rise of China’s space prowess as an existential threat and the primary reason for its growth. The young branch is under constant pressure from the US Congress to modernize faster and build up its new infrastructure at light speed, even though government work ‘is designed to be plodding… it’s not designed to be entrepreneurial with taxpayer dollars,’ according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, the SF’s Chief of Space Operations (as reported by SpaceNews).
Still, China’s actions lag far behind those of the US. This is clear from the sheer amount of satellites the US operates, both military and commercial, and how many times its rockets launch; SpaceX recently achieved a cadence of launching once every 2.8 days. However, this proficiency – which hinges primarily on SpaceX – is also one of its greatest weaknesses. While SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rockets were grounded by the FAA following a failure of an upper stage in space, the USSF had few other options to get to orbit, highlighting the organization’s heavy reliance on the company as most of SpaceX’s domestic competition has yet to establish a steady supply of rockets.
But the USSF’s increased militarization of space, which could soon expand beyond Earth’s orbit, lays the groundwork for a more dramatic issue. For now, both the US and China are developing weapons designed to mess with each other’s satellites, all the while constantly accusing the other of militarizing space and creating a dangerous environment. As both nations plan to land humans on the lunar south pole within the decade, it’s easy to see how their military rivalry could spill over into their civilian exploration programs. International law forbids military activity on the moon itself, but it says nothing about cislunar space (the area between the Earth and the moon). And while militarization of this stretch could be dangerous to astronaut missions, the SF’s head start in Earth’s orbit is serving it so well that it’s already mulling over operations in cislunar space (as reported by Ars Technica).
The extent to which the US and China’s militaries will be involved in deep space missions could determine not just who controls it but also whether exploration is peaceful or perilous. But, as Peter Garretson, a senior fellow in defense policy at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Politico in 2022, ‘power abhors a vacuum’ – which is, after all, what space is. Chances are, someone’s going to fill it. And the US, by means of both NASA and the SF, is betting on itself.
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