The impending deployment of the Space Shuttle in partnership with NASA prompted major internal competition between the Air Force's major commands for internal control and to transform itself into an operational major command. Īs Air Force space programs began to mature in the 1970s and early 1980s, their disjointed nature presented operational issues. Aerospace Defense Command was responsible for space surveillance and missile warning, Strategic Air Command operated weather satellites, and Air Force Systems Command, primarily responsible for research and development, also had operational responsibilities for operating communication satellites and space launch. However, its space operations were fragmented across several different Air Force major commands. The Air Force's space program began in 1954 with the establishment of the Western Development Division under Brigadier General Bernard Schriever. Ī NORAD Space Defense Center orbital analyst tracking Kosmos 1402 in 1983. On 21 October 2020, United States Space Force was redesignated as Space Operations Command and officially transitioned from a U.S. On 20 December 2019, following the establishment of the United States Space Force as an independent service, Air Force Space Command was also redesignated as United States Space Force ( USSF) and served as the transitional headquarters of the new service, but remained a component of the U.S. Space Command, Naval Space Command, and Army Space Command. On 15 November 1985, Space Command was renamed Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC or AFSPACECOM) to distinguish it from U.S. Space Operations Command was established on 1 September 1982 as Space Command ( SPACECOM), which was the first dedicated space command in the United States Armed Forces. Space Operations Command consists of Space Operations Command West, its mission deltas, and garrison commands. Space Force's service component to United States Space Command. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado and serves as the U.S.
Space Operations Command ( SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command.