United States Space Force

United States Space Force
Space Force Delta
Founded	20 December 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-20)
Country	United States
Type	Space force
Size	8,940 military personnel[1]
Part of	United States Armed Forces Department of the Air Force
Headquarters	The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.[2]
Motto(s)	Semper Supra "Always above"[3]
March	"Semper Supra"[4]
Anniversaries	20 December
Equipment	See spacecraft and space systems
Engagements	As Air Force Space Command Grenada – Operation Urgent Fury Lebanese Civil War Libya – Operation El Dorado Canyon Persian Gulf – Operation Ernest Will Panama – Operation Just Cause Somalia – Operation United Shield Haiti – Operation Uphold Democracy Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Endeavor Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Guard Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Endeavor Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia – Operation Joint Forge Southwest Asia – Operation Vigilant Sentinel Southwest Asia – Maritime Intercept Operations Southwest Asia – Operation Southern Watch Southwest Asia – Operation Northern Watch Southwest Asia – Operation Desert Fox Haiti – Operation Secure Tomorrow Persian Gulf War Kosovo Air Campaign Kosovo Defense Campaign Iraq Campaign[5] As U.S. Space Force Global War on Terrorism Afghanistan Campaign Inherent Resolve Campaign[5]
Website	spaceforce.mil spaceforce.com
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense	Lloyd Austin
Secretary of the Air Force	Frank Kendall III
Chief of Space Operations	Gen B. Chance Saltzman
Vice Chief of Space Operations	Gen Michael Guetlein
Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force	CMSSF John F. Bentivegna
Insignia
Flag
Seal

The United States Space Force (USSF) is the United States Armed Forces' space service and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is one of two independent space forces in the world, alongside the Chinese People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force.^[6]

The United States Space Force traces its origins to the Air Force, Army, and Navy's military space programs created during the beginning of the Cold War. Space forces first participated in combat operations during the Vietnam War and have participated in every U.S. military operation since, most notably in the Persian Gulf War, which has been referred to as the "first space war." The Strategic Defense Initiative and creation of Air Force Space Command in the 1980s marked a renaissance for military space operations.

Proposals for a U.S. Space Force were first seriously considered during the Reagan Administration as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Congress began exploring establishing a Space Corps or Space Force in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The idea of establishing a Space Force was resurrected in the late 2010s in response to Russian and Chinese military space developments and the Space Force was established on 20 December 2019.

The Space Force is organized as part of the Department of the Air Force alongside the U.S. Air Force, its coequal sister service. The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian secretary of the Air Force, while the U.S. Space Force is led by the Chief of Space Operations. The U.S. Space Force's status as part of the Department of the Air Force is intended to be an interim measure towards a fully independent Department of the Space Force, led by a civilian secretary of the Space Force.