Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), sometimes referred to informally as U.S. Space Command, is a major command of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of satellite, launch and cyber operations. Operationally, AFSPC is an Air Force component command subordinate to U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), a unified combatant command. It is the primary space force for the U.S. Armed Forces.
More than 38,000 people perform AFSPC missions at 88 locations worldwide and comprises Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard military personnel, Department of the Air Force civilians (DAFC), and civilian military contractors. Composition consist of approximately 22,000 military personnel and 9,000 civilian employees, although their missions overlap.
AFSPC gained the cyber operations mission with the stand-up of 24th Air Force under AFSPC in August 2009.
On 1 December 2009, the strategic nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) mission that AFSPC inherited from Air Combat Command (ACC) in 1993, and which ACC had inherited following the inactivation of Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1992, was transferred to the newly established Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).
Video Air Force Space Command
Mission
According to AFSPC, its mission is to "Provide resilient and affordable Space and Cyberspace capabilities for the Joint Force and the Nation." As a result, AFSPC's activities make the space domain reliable to United States warfighters (i.e., combat forces personnel) by assuring their access to space.
AFSPC's primary mission areas are:
- Space forces support, involving the launching of satellites and other high-value payloads into space using a variety of expendable launch vehicles and operating those satellites once in space
- Space control, ensuring the friendly use of space through the conduct of counterspace operations encompassing surveillance, negation, protection and space intelligence analysis
- Force enhancement, providing satellite-based weather, communications, intelligence, missile warning, and navigation; force enhancement is direct support to the warfighter
Maps Air Force Space Command
History
During the Cold War, space operations focused on missile warning and associated command and control for the National Command Authority (NCA). Missile warning operations from the former Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) that had been assumed by Tactical Air Command (TAC) in the late 1970s, and space and spacelift/space launch operations that had been resident in the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC), were combined to form a new Air Force major command (MAJCOM) in 1982 known as Space Command. Following the creation of United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) as a Unified Combatant Command, in 1985, Space Command was renamed Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) and assigned to USSPACECOM as its USAF component command.
In 1991, Operation Desert Storm provided emphasis for AFPSC's new focus on support to the warfighter. ICBM forces previously assigned to the inactivated Strategic Air Command (SAC) were merged into AFSPC in 1993 until moved into Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) in 2009. Air Force Space Command also became the lead MAJCOM for all Air Force cyberspace operations in 2009, gaining Air Force cyber operations and combat communications units, the Air Force Network Integration Center, and the Air Force Spectrum Management Office (formerly known as the Air Force Frequency Management Agency). On 1 April 2013, Air Force Space Command announced that the Space Innovation and Development Center's missions had been realigned under Headquarters, Air Force Space Command, and the Air Force Warfare Center of the Air Combat Command (ACC).
The Space Command was the subject of a 60 Minutes News segment on CBS in April 2015. When speaking with 60 Minutes reporter David Martin, commanding General John E. Hyten was not able to respond to many of the questions, claiming the information was classified but that the program was doing its part in keeping the global world of GPS satellites and other important global satellite usage peaceful. To ensure satellite safety, General Hyten confirmed the belief that other countries were developing anti-satellite technology, but that the Space Command Program was developing technologies of their own, including telescopic lasers to better track the paths of satellites. Reporter David Martin also asked about the new Boeing X-37 "space plane" the US Air Force had been testing. General Hyten confirmed that it could bring satellites into orbit and bring them back, and that the US Air Force would do everything they could to protect the country and its satellites from the danger that could be brought by anti-satellite technology from China and Russia in the future. This CBS interview was a peek into the secretive Space Command that protects the billion-dollar US satellites that provide essential global navigation and surveillance.
In 2016 Space Command began their Space Mission Force concept of operations to respond quickly to attacks in space. Each Space Wing undergoes special training then serves a four to six-month rotation.
List of commanders
Organization
Numbered Air Forces
Air Force Space Command has two active Numbered Air Forces (NAFs).
Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF) provides space warfighting forces to U.S. Strategic Command in its capacity as Air Forces Strategic-Space, and is located at Vandenberg AFB, California. It is responsible for space launch / space lift of payloads from facilities in California and Florida, and manages the generation and employment of space forces to support U.S. Strategic Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) operational plans and missions.
Twenty-Fourth Air Force
The Twenty-Fourth Air Force (24 AF) mission is to operate, extend, and defend the Air Force Information Network, defend key mission systems, and provide full spectrum cyberspace capabilities for the joint warfighter in, through, and from cyberspace. It is headquartered at Lackland AFB, Texas.
Direct Reporting Units
AFSPC is the major command providing space forces and trained cyber warfare forces for U.S. Strategic Command. AFSPC also supports NORAD with ballistic missile warning information, operates the Space Warfare Center to develop space applications for direct warfighter support, and is responsible for the U.S. Department of Defense's ICBM follow-on operational test and evaluation program.
Space and Missile Systems Center
The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles AFB, California, designs and acquires all Air Force and most Department of Defense space systems. It oversees launches, completes on-orbit checkouts, then turns systems over to user agencies. It supports the Program Executive Office for Space on the NAVSTAR Global Positioning, Defense Satellite Communications and MILSTAR systems. SMC also supports the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the Follow-on Early Warning System. In addition, it supports development and acquisition of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Air Force Program Executive Office for Strategic Systems.
Air Force Network Integration Center
The Air Force Network Integration Center (AFNIC), located at Scott AFB, IL, is a direct reporting unit to Air Force Space Command, and the Air Force's premier organization for Air Force Network Integration, cyber simulation, and network standards, architecture and engineering services.
Air Force Spectrum Management Office
The AFSMO mission is to plan, provide and preserve access to the radio frequency spectrum for the Air Force and selected Department of Defense activities in support of national policy objectives, systems development and global operations. This includes obtaining spectrum access critical for all Air Force core functions.
Locations
The AFSPC headquarters is a major unit located at Peterson AFB, Colorado. There are six AFSPC host bases:
- Buckley AFB, Colorado
- 460th Space Wing
- 233rd Space Group (Colorado Air National Guard)
- Los Angeles AFB, California
- Space and Missile Systems Center
- Global Positioning Systems Directorate
- Space Superiority Systems Directorate
- Launch and Range Systems Directorate
- Space-Based Infrared Systems Directorate
- Defense Weather Systems Directorate
- Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate
- Space Logistics Directorate
- Missile Defense Systems Directorate
- Space Development and Test Directorate (Kirtland AFB, New Mexico)
- Spacelift Range and Network Systems Division
- 61st Air Base Group
- 61st Civil Engineering and Logistics Squadron
- 61st Medical Squadron
- 61st Mission Support Squadron
- Space and Missile Systems Center
- Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida
- 45th Space Wing
- 114th Space Control Squadron (Florida Air National Guard)
- 45th Space Wing
- Peterson AFB, Colorado
- 21st Space Wing
- 821st Air Base Group (GSU at Thule Air Base, Greenland)
- 20th Space Control Squadron (GSU at Eglin AFB Site C-6, Florida
- 310th Space Wing (AFRC)
- 21st Space Wing
- Schriever AFB, Colorado
- 50th Space Wing
- Space Innovation and Development Center
- Vandenberg AFB, California
- 14th Air Force
- 30th Space Wing
- 148th Space Operations Squadron (California Air National Guard)
With its assumption of the cyber mission, AFSPC also maintains additional activities at the following bases, most of which are under ACC, USAFE, PACAF, AETC, AFMC, AFSOC, AFRC or non-USAF control:
- 624th Operations Center, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 67th Network Warfare Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 26th Network Operations Group, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 26th Network Operations Squadron, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
- 26th Operations Support Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 33d Network Warfare Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 68th Network Warfare Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 352d Network Warfare Squadron, JBPHH, Hawaii
- 426th Network Warfare Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
- 67th Network Warfare Group, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 67th Operations Support Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 91st Network Warfare Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 315th Network Warfare Squadron, Fort Meade, Maryland
- 690th Cyberspace Operations Group, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 83d Network Operations Squadron, Langley AFB, Virginia
- 561st Network Operations Squadron, Peterson AFB, Colorado
- 690th Intelligence Support Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 690th Network Support Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 26th Network Operations Group, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 688th Information Operations Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 38th Contracting Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 38th Cyberspace Readiness Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 38th Engineering Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 38th Operations Support Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 85th Engineering Installation Squadron, Keesler AFB, Mississippi
- 318th Information Operations Group, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 39th Information Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida
- 90th Information Operations Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 92d Information Operations Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 318th Operations Support Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 346th Test Squadron, Lackland AFB, Texas
- 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
- 689th Combat Communications Wing, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 5th Combat Communications Group, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 5th Combat Communications Support Squadron, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 51st Combat Communications Squadron, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 52d Combat Communications Squadron, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 53d Combat Communications Squadron, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 54th Combat Communications Squadron, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 55th Combat Communications Squadron (AFRC), Robins AFB, Georgia
- 5th Combat Communications Group, Robins AFB, Georgia
- 226th Combat Communications Group, Abston Air National Guard Station, Montgomery, Alabama
- 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron - Brunswick, Georgia
- 232d Combat Communications Squadron - Abston ANGS, Montgomery, Alabama
- 263d Combat Communications Squadron - New London ANGS, New London, North Carolina
- 265th Combat Communications Squadron - South Portland ANGS, South Portland, Maine
- 269th Combat Communications Squadron - Springfield ANGS, Springfield, Ohio
- 271st Combat Communications Squadron - Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, Pennsylvania
- 280th Special Operations Communications Squadron - Dothan Regional Airport ANGS, Dothan, Alabama
- 282d Combat Communications Squadron - North Smithfield ANGS, North Smithfield, Rhode Island
- 283d Combat Communications Squadron - Dobbins ARB, Georgia
- 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron - MacDill AFB, Florida
AFSPC also operates several Air Force Stations for launch support and early warning missions:
- Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts
- 6th Space Warning Squadron
- Cavalier AFS, North Dakota
- 10th Space Warning Squadron
- Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colorado
- Cheyenne Mountain Division
- Clear Air Force Station, Alaska
- 13th Space Warning Squadron
- 213th Space Warning Squadron (Alaska Air National Guard)
- Greeley Air National Guard Station, Colorado
- 137th Space Warning Squadron (Colorado Air National Guard
- New Boston AFS, New Hampshire
- 23d Space Operations Squadron
Space capabilities
Spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases provide services, facilities and range safety control for the conduct of DOD, NASA and commercial launches. Through the command and control of all DOD satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects--continuous global coverage, low vulnerability and autonomous operations. Satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning. Ground-based radar and Defense Support Program satellites monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. Space surveillance radars provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world.
General Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites.
As of 2013, Air Force Space Command is considering Space Disaggregation, which would involve replacing a few large multimission satellites with larger numbers of smaller single purpose platforms. This could be used to defend against ASATs, by increasing the number of targets that needed to be attacked.
Resources
Satellites
- Advanced Extremely High Frequency
- Defense Satellite Communications System
- Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
- Defense Support Program
- Fleet Satellite Communications System UHF follow-on
- Global Positioning System
- MILSTAR
- NATO III and IV communications
- Space Based Space Surveillance
Launch vehicles
- Delta II
- Atlas V
- Delta IV
Space situational awareness
- Air Force Satellite Control Network
- Maui Optical Tracking Identification Facility
- Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System
- Passive Space Surveillance System
- Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System
- AN/FPS-85 Space Track Radar
Ballistic missile warning radars
- AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS
- AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane
- AN/FPQ-16 Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS)
- Sea-based X-band Radar Sea-Based X-Band Radar
- Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS)
In popular culture
In the science-fiction TV series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe the fictional Stargate Program is managed by the U.S. Air Force, specifically through Air Force Space Command.
See also
- United States Space Surveillance Network
Comparable organizations
- United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command
- Naval Network Warfare Command (U.S. Navy)
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links
- "Air Force Space Command Fact Sheet". Air Force Space Command. August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- "Air Force Space Command Fact Sheet". Air Force. April 2003. Archived from the original on 24 June 2003.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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