To Infinity and Beyond

The U.S. Space Force takes on the new frontier of national security.

Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 03:31 PM ET

Verified

A Falcon 9 rocket launches on Jan. 6, 2020, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket, carrying an installment of Starlink satellites, was the first official launch of the United States Space Force. [U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua Conti]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) was established in 2019 to address space as a critical and contested national security frontier, driven by adversaries' modernized space capabilities and increasing orbital congestion.
The USSF is designed for speed and agility, featuring a streamlined command structure to rapidly develop and field new capabilities, reduce bureaucracy, and foster partnerships with the commercial sector.
Operating as a coequal military branch, the USSF focuses on pushing decision-making down to stay ahead of threats, while developing a distinct identity with historical ties to U.S. military space endeavors.

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The U.S. Space Force (USSF)—the nation’s newest military service branch and the first created in a generation—stands ready to engage in a new era of national defense where commercial space and military interests collide.

Pushing military capabilities “to infinity and be-yond” isn’t exactly new. The U.S. military began space research following World War II and prior to the formation of the Department of the Air Force. Nearly four decades later, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) unified efforts by establishing the Air Force Space Command in 1982. That mission later expanded into cyberspace as well as providing space-based communication and navigational support for U.S. forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.