Space Force: Difference between revisions

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]]. US military 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.

Concerned about the development of the Soviet Union's own space forces, the Air Force advocated for a military [[human spaceflight]] program. General [[Curtis LeMay]] described strong parallels between World War I aviation and 1960s space operations, noting how quickly flying evolved from chivalric and unarmed [[Aerial reconnaissance|reconnaissance flights]] to combat efforts designed to destroy enemy [[air superiority]]. General LeMay believed that it was naive to believe that the same trends were not expected to be seen in space and must be prepared for. Although the Air Force made significant progress in developing the [[Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar|X-20]] [[spaceplane]], [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory]], and [[Blue Gemini]], opposition from the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] prevented operational fielding. The Air Force was also forced to cancel [[Project SAINT]], a satellite inspector with satellite neutralization capabilities, when details were leaked to ''The New York Times'' in 1962. Despite these setbacks, the Air Force did successfully field the [[Program 437]] [[anti-satellite weapon]] system, which used nuclear [[PGM-17 Thor|Thor missile]]s to intercept enemy spacecraft.{{sfn|Spires|1998}}

Space forces were first used in combat operations during the Vietnam War, with Air Force weather and communications spacecraft supporting ground, sea, and air operations.{{sfn|Spires|1998}} During [[Operation Urgent Fury]] in Grenada, satellite communications were used to conduct command and control for the first time, while [[Operation El Dorado Canyon]] and [[Operation Just Cause]] marked the first time that major U.S. forces incorporated information from space-based intelligence systems.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA329263.pdf | title=After the Gulf War: Balancing Spacepower's Development | first=Frank | last=Gallegos | website=apps.dtic.mil}}</ref>

While U.S. space forces supported all U.S. military operations in the 1990s, [[Operation Allied Force]] marked the first use of [[Global Positioning System]]-aided munitions in a conflict, ushering in a new era of precision bombing.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0310bombs/ | title=The Emergence of Smart Bombs }}</ref> Following the September 11 attacks, U.S. space forces mobilized to respond as part of the [[War on terror|Global War on Terrorism]] [[Operation Enduring Freedom]], [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], and [[Operation Inherent Resolve]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Master of the Sky to Master of Space |url=https://www.schriever.spaceforce.mil/Portals/17/2019_Heritage_Pamphlet%20pdf.pdf |access-date=9 September 2023 |website=Schriever Space Force Base}}</ref>

Air Force leadership reacted extremely poorly to the Rumsfeld Commission's recommendations. The day after the Commission was publicly released [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Air Force Chief of Staff]] General [[Michael E. Ryan]] declared "an independent Space Force or Corps was not warranted for at least another 50 years." General Ryan doubled down over the following year, stating that a Space Force should only be considered once space operations moved beyond Earth orbit. Despite the Air Force's hostility to the idea of a Space Corps or Space Force, they did meet some recommendations by transferring the [[Space and Missile Systems Center]] from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Space Command and establishing the [[National Security Space Institute]].<ref name="afhistory.af.mil"/> Ultimately, the Rumsfeld Commission's recommendations remained unfulfilled because of the higher priority placed on [[counterterrorism]] after the September 11 attacks, canceling plans for a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force or a fully independent Space Force by 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://spacenews.com/war-terror-supersedes-2001-space-commission-vision/ | title=War on Terror Supersedes 2001 Space Commission Vision | date=23 January 2006 }}</ref>

<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spacenews.com/congressman-rogers-a-space-corps-is-inevitable/|title=Congressman Rogers: A space corps is 'inevitable'|date=2 December 2017|website=SpaceNews.com|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=1 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701205128/https://spacenews.com/congressman-rogers-a-space-corps-is-inevitable/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Zachary |title=Lawmakers scrap 'Space Corps' proposal |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/08/politics/congress-space-corps-ndaa/index.html |access-date=August 31, 2023 |work=CNN |date=November 8, 2017}}</ref> However, the proposal was resurrected in 2018 when President [[Donald Trump]] publicly endorsed the creation of a Space Force and directed the Defense Department to reverse its opposition and develop plans for its establishment.<ref name=awkward>{{cite news |last1=Gould |first1=Joe |title=Trump touting 'space force' puts Air Force in awkward spot |url=https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/03/14/trump-touting-space-force-puts-air-force-in-awkward-spot/ |access-date=September 2, 2023 |work=[[Defense News]] |date=March 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mehta |first1=Valerie |last2=Mehta |first2=Aaron |title=Trump orders creation of independent space force — but Congress will still have its say |url=https://www.defensenews.com/space/2018/06/18/trump-orders-creation-of-independent-space-force/ |access-date=August 31, 2023 |work=[[Defense News]] |date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> The [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump Administration]] plan for the U.S. Space Force was outlined in Space Policy Directive-4, initially organizing the U.S. Space Force as part of the Department of the Air Force, but with plans to build out a separate Department of the Space Force in the future.<ref name="Space Policy Directive-4">{{cite web | url=https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/SPD-4/ | title=Space Policy Directive-4 }}</ref> In 2019, Congress passed legislation establishing the U.S. Space Force as a military service under the Department of the Air Force. On 20 December 2019, the [[National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020|National Defense Authorization Act]] was signed into law and the U.S. Space Force was established as the sixth armed service, meeting the Rumsfeld and Allard commissions' recommendations to create a Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force, but still falling short of creating a separate Department of the Space Force.<ref name="afhistory.af.mil"/>

|[[File:Space Development Agency emblem.jpg|40px]] || [[Space Development Agency]] (SDA) || Develops, demonstrates, and transitions resilient military space-based sensing, tracking, and data transport capabilities into a proliferated multi-orbit architecture, encompassing government, commercial, and rapid acquisition architectures || [[The Pentagon]], Arlington County, Virginia

!Medal of Honor