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.
Astranis’ Arcturus satellite shipped from Astranis’ San Francisco headquarters to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A Space Force initiative aims to use commercial space transportation systems and on-orbit logistics to support military operations, including rockets to deliver cargo, space tugs to deliver satellites to nontraditional orbits, and on-orbit tankers to refuel satellites.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:13 p.m. Eastern on 2023-02-27.
A second Falcon 9 was slated to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:31 p.m. Eastern on 2023-02-27 carrying 51 first-generation Starlink satellites.
A Falcon 9 was slated to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:38 p.m. Eastern on 2023-02-27 carrying 21 V2 Mini Starlink satellites.
The Space Force funded nearly $1,000,000,000 of Vulcan development costs.
The Space Force selected Vulcan in 2020 to launch 60% of the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 missions.
The Space Force projects 60 to 70 missions for NSSL Phase 3 between 2025 and 2034.
The U.S. Space Force and the Department of the Air Force manage over 100 satellites that perform strategic missions.
The U.S. Space Force considered venture capital funding and companies’ business plans when structuring the Lane 1 incentives to encourage small launch providers to expand into the medium-class market.
The U.S. Space Force is planning for a rocket cargo program standup in the 2026 timeframe.
Relativity Space will attempt the first launch of its Terran 1 rocket on 2023-03-08 between 1 and 4 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A Falcon 9 carrying the British company’s Inmarsat-6 F2 satellite lifted off at 10:59 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The payloads for the three Space Rapid Capabilities Office smallsats on USSF-67 were produced and delivered in less than three years.
The U.S. Space Force is exploring arrangements with commercial space companies that manufacture satellites, operate launch vehicles, and provide services such as satellite-based communications and Earth imagery.
Inmarsat launched its I-6 F2 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Estimates from the aerospace consulting firm Velos put the Space Force’s classified budget at $3,700,000,000 in 2021 and $6,500,000,000 in 2023.
SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California earlier the same day to deploy 51 satellites for its broadband constellation to low Earth orbit.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying Inmarsat-6 F2 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on 2023-02-17 with liftoff at 10:59 p.m. Eastern.
The Starlink 4-27 mission launched on a Falcon 9 on 2022-08-19 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying 53 Starlink satellites.