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 to address urgent national security threats in space from adversaries like China and Russia, transforming space into a contested and congested operational environment.
The USSF is purpose-built for speed and agility, featuring a streamlined command structure designed to minimize bureaucracy, decentralize decision-making, and rapidly develop new capabilities.
A key strategy for the USSF involves expanding partnerships, particularly with the commercial space sector, to leverage innovative technologies and maintain a strategic advantage.

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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.