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.
USSF-52 will carry an unclassified experiment called NASA’s Seeds-2 project to test the effects of radiation and long-duration spaceflight on plant seeds.
SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Thursday, 2023-12-28 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 to orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX targeted no earlier than Wednesday, 2023-12-13 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Those Falcon Heavy side boosters previously supported the USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche missions.
A planned Falcon Heavy liftoff for USSF-52 on Monday, 2023-12-11 at 8:24 p.m. EST was scrubbed about 30 minutes before the planned liftoff.
ALISIO-1 was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on SpaceX's Falcon 9.
The NDAA establishes a legislative liaison of the Space Force to perform legislative affairs functions under the direction of the Chief of Space Operations.
The compromise NDAA authorizes $30,100,000,000 for the U.S. Space Force.
The 2023-12-14 reusable test spacecraft mission was placed into a 333 by 348-kilometer orbit inclined by 50 degrees according to U.S. Space Force space domain awareness cataloging.
The $30,100,000,000 authorization for the U.S. Space Force is about $79,000,000 below President Biden’s request.
The NDAA does not establish a Space National Guard and directs a feasibility study on the consolidation or transfer of space functions of the National Guard to the Space Force.
A total of 737 rockets have launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, 2023-12-14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The NDAA directs the Space Force to submit a plan to improve threat-sharing arrangements with commercial space operators that are under contract with the Department of Defense.
The Space Force has expressed interest in buying commercial services to refuel and service satellites in geostationary orbit by the early 2030s.
The U.S. Space Force unveiled an overhaul of its command structure on 2023-12-12, consolidating two large organizations under a three-star general.
NASA’s Seeds-2 experiment on USSF-52 is an unclassified project that will test the effects of radiation and long-duration spaceflight on plant seeds.
U.S. Space Forces-Space was officially activated on 2023-12-06 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
SpaceX is building a tower at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support cargo and crew launches as a backup to LC-39A.
SpaceX previously scrubbed the Falcon Heavy launch of USSF-52 about 30 minutes before a planned 8:24 p.m. EST liftoff on Monday, 2023-12-11.