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 SBIR Phase III project involves a three-satellite prototype demonstration focused on cloud characterization and theater weather imagery to support military planning in contested environments.
SPACEFOR-NORTH is the seventh Space Force service component to stand up since November 2020 when Space Forces Indo-Pacific was activated.
Muon Space was awarded a 44.6 million dollar US Space Force SBIR Phase III Other Transaction Agreement in 2025 to demonstrate a dual-use environmental monitoring constellation.
The Space Force frames its growing network of service components as central to improving readiness, enhancing joint lethality, and ensuring specialized space capabilities are embedded with combatant commands charged with defending U.S. interests and the homeland.
The Space Force is on track to field service components in every combatant command to posture the service to employ space forces and expertise to deter conflict and, if necessary, help win future wars.
Muon Space secured a $44.6 million SBIR Phase III contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop a dual-use space-based environmental monitoring capability.
With the activation of SPACEFOR-NORTH, the Space Force now fields six other service components, including Space Forces Indo-Pacific and Space Forces Central, which were activated in November and December 2022 respectively, and Space Forces Space and Space Forces Europe-Africa, both activated in December 2023.
Under Space Forces Indo-Pacific, the Space Force established subordinate components Space Forces Korea in December 2022 and Space Forces Japan in December 2024.
On January 9, 2026 the Space Force awarded $739 million in task orders under NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1.
The R/S Rocket Ship vessel is offloading a Vulcan rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
United Launch Alliance is rolling out the fairing for USSF-87 to Space Launch Complex 41 for stacking atop the Vulcan launch vehicle.
The USSF-87 launch is scheduled no earlier than February 12, 2026, with liftoff around 08:00 UTC.
A Vulcan rocket has arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base for the first Vulcan launch from the West Coast.
The USSF-87 payload includes two GSSAP satellites and an ESPA ring carrying smaller payloads.
The first Element satellite is scheduled to launch later in 2025 and is funded partially by CesiumAstro and partially through a U.S. Space Force Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI).
The U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce and the U.S. Space Force Joint Commercial Operations cell jointly licensed access to LeoLabs’ Object Catalog in September 2025.
Both the Hawaii Scout site and the Indo-Pacific Seeker site will contribute to LeoLabs’ Global Radar Network and augment U.S. Space Force space domain awareness capabilities.
U.S. firm Maxar, now Vantor, displayed an image at a U.S. Space Force event on November 7, 2024, that may have depicted a spaceplane and noted imaging capabilities up to 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers).
Northwood Space received a $49.8 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to upgrade the Satellite Control Network.
AST SpaceMobile scheduled the BlueBird 7 launch for late February from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicle.