United States Space Force: Space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

Armed Forces. It is focused on war in space. It is the sixth branch of the U.S. military.

United States Space Force
Seal of the United States Space Force
Founded	20 December 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-20) (as an independent service) 1 September 1982 (41 years, 7 months as Air Force Space Command)
Country	United States
Type	Space force
Role	Space warfare
Size	16,000 assigned
Part of	Department of the Air Force
Headquarters	The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Anniversaries	20 December
Website	www.spaceforce.mil
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense	Lloyd Austin
Secretary of the Air Force	Frank Kendall
Chief of Space Operations	General B. Chance Saltzman

It is a part of the Department of the Air Force, one of the three parts of the Department of Defense. Because of this, the Space Force is led by the Secretary of the Air Force, who is under the Secretary of Defense. The leader of the Space Force is called the Chief of Space Operations.

On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump announced in an address to the National Space Council a directive that requests the creation of a sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces.

The president announced his intention for The Pentagon to create the 'Space Force' as an independent service branch, separate from the United States Air Force. Many US Senators stated they would rather create a Space Corps inside the Air Force. The Air Force has had a "Space Command" since September 1, 1982.

Vice President Mike Pence in August 2018 announced a plan that would create the Space Force by 2020.

General John W. Raymond was nominated to be commander of Space Command in April 2019, and his nomination was heard in the United States Senate in June 2019. He was previously head of U.S. Air Force Space Command. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett approved the moving of part of the Air Force to the Space Force and making it the Space Operations Command.

On 20 December 2019, the Space Force became the sixth armed service branch. General Raymond became the first Chief of Space Operations. This happened on 20 December 2019.

Functions

The United States Space Force Act says that it will exist to make sure that the United States can operate freely in space. It ensures that they can conduct military actions in space quickly and for a long time.

Duties

Its duties are to protect the interests of the United States in space. It also prevents attacks on the United States in and from space, and to generally operate in space.

The Space Force is one of two equal parts of the Department of the Air Force. The other one is the United States Air Force. Both are run by the Secretary of the Air Force.

The leader of the Space Force is the Chief of Space Operations (CSO), who is a general. The Chief of Space Operations became a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December 2020,one year after the Space Force Act was passed.

About 16,000 Air Force members were intended to become part of the Space Force while the branch became part of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is making its own way of training members, and will create uniforms, ranks, logo, patch, awards, and an official song. This was supposed to happen within 18 months after the Space Force became independent.

Structure

Space Operations Command (SPOC), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

•   21st Space Wing (21 SW), Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
•   30th Space Wing (30 SW), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
•   45th Space Wing (45 SW), Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
•   50th Space Wing (50 SW), Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
•   460th Space Wing (460 SW), Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
•   614th Air Operations Center (614 AOC), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

  Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Los Angeles Air Force Base, California

•   61st Air Base Group (61 ABG), Los Angeles Air Force Base, California