The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, established in December 2019. Its primary role is to organize, train, and equip space forces to protect U.S. and allied interests in space by ensuring space superiority. The USSF manages space launch operations, satellite operations, space environment surveillance, and satellite defense, and partners with organizations like NASA on space domain awareness and planetary defense. Key areas of focus include missile warning, satellite communications, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The U.S. Space Force tracked three objects in roughly 930 by 940-kilometer orbits with an inclination of 50 degrees following the 2023-12-29 Long March 2C launch.
X-37B Mission 7, also designated OTV-7, will expand the United States Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment by experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies.
SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy carrying the USSF-52 mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 2023-12-28 at 8:07 p.m. ET.
The Falcon Heavy side boosters that supported the USSF-52 launch completed their fifth launch and landing on the 2023-12-28 mission.
The Falcon Heavy side boosters that landed on the USSF-52 mission previously supported the USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA Psyche missions.
Four of the USSF-124 satellites are missile-tracking sensors manufactured by L3Harris for the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer constellation.
USSF-124 will launch to a low orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Florida.
Firefly launched the Victus Nox responsive space demonstration for the U.S. Space Force successfully three months before the 2023-12-22 launch.
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan VC2S rocket will launch the Certification-1 (Cert-1) mission from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The U.S. Senate on 2023-12-19 confirmed eleven senior officers to four-star rank, including Space Force leaders Gen. Michael Guetlein and Gen. Stephen Whiting.
A Falcon Heavy launch of the U.S. Space Force X-37B spaceplane from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center was scrubbed on 2023-12-11 because of a ground equipment issue and was delayed to no earlier than 2023-12-28 reportedly because of issues with the rocket.
A Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 49 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 11:01 p.m. Eastern on 2023-12-18.
Planned remaining launches in 2023 included the Space Force X-37B mission, additional Starlink missions, SARah launches, and the Ovzon-3 communications satellite.
SpaceX's 2023-12-18 launch was the company's first launch since a Falcon 9 Starlink mission early on 2023-12-08 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Fly the Lightning will launch from Firefly’s SLC-2 complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Fly the Lightning will launch from Firefly’s SLC-2 complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Fly the Lightning will launch from Firefly’s SLC-2 complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The U.S. Space Force awarded Millennium Space Systems contracts worth $509,500,000 for the first six satellites of a medium Earth orbit constellation to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan VC2S rocket will launch the Cert-1 certification mission from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The Falcon Heavy launch window for USSF-52 on 2023-12-28 opens at 7:00 p.m. ET and lasts four hours.