United States Space Command

United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations above 100 kilometers above mean sea level.

For the military service branch, see United States Space Force.
United States Space Command
Seal of United States Space Command
Active29 August 2019 – present (11 months, second U.S. Space Command)
23 September 1985 – 1 October 2002 (16 years, 10 months, first U.S. Space Command)[1]
Country United States
TypeUnified combatant command
RoleSpace warfare
Part of Department of Defense
HeadquartersPeterson AFB, Colorado, U.S.[2]
Websitewww.spacecom.mil
Commanders
Commander Gen John W. Raymond, USSF[3]
Deputy Commander LTG James H. Dickinson, USA
Chief of Staff Brig Gen Brook J. Leonard, USAF
Command Senior Enlisted LeaderCMSgt Roger A. Towberman, USSF
Insignia
Army Element Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Army Element Distinctive Unit Insignia
Part of a series on the
Space policy of the United States

Space Command was created in September 1985 to provide joint command and control for all military forces in outer space and coordinate with the other combatant commands. SPACECOM was inactivated in 2002, and its responsibilities and forces were merged into United States Strategic Command.[4] After nearly 17 years, Space Command was reestablished on 29 August 2019, with a reemphasized focus on space as a warfighting domain.

Mission

Space Command's mission is to: "To conduct operations in, from, and through space to deter conflict, and if necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force, and defend U.S. vital interests with allies and partners." [2]

Organization

United States Space Command has two subordinate components. The Combined Force Space Component Command is responsible for planning and conducting global space operations, while also providing space effects to the other combatant commands and U.S. allied partners. Joint Task Force–Space Defense is responsible for conducing space superiority operations.[2]

Structure

Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC), Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Joint Task Force-Space Defense (JTF–SD), Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado

Service components

As a unified combatant command, Space Command has a number of service components that provide forces to it.[5]

History

First U.S. Space Command: 1985–2002
First U.S. Space Command seal

United States Space Command was established in as a functional combatant command 1985 to provide joint command and control of the Air Force, Army, and Navy's space forces, as well as prepare for the implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative.[9][10]

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the armed forces' focus on homeland defense and counter-terrorism was significantly increased, which resulted in space being deemphasized. It was in this context that the unified command plan was reevaluated, resulting in U.S. Northern Command being established for the defense of the North American continent, while U.S. Space Command was merged with U.S. Strategic Command, where its responsibilities were absorbed into the Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike. In 2006, this would be replaced by the Joint Functional Component Command for Space, and in 2017, be reorganized as the Joint Force Space Component Commander.[11]

The Army components for the first formation of Space Command were the Army Space Agency (1986–1988); Army Space Command (1988–1992); and Army Space and Strategic Defense Command (1992–1997), which eventually became today's Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Up until 2002 Naval Space Command was the naval component, and Air Force Space Command the USAF component.

Joint Functional Component Command for Space (JFCC Space) Emblem
Joint Force Space Component Command seal

Second U.S. Space Command: 2019–present
Left to right: USSPACECOM Commander General John Raymond, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the White House Rose Garden for the 2019 reestablishment signing ceremony

The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law in 2018, directed the reestablishment of U.S. Space Command as a sub-unified combatant command under U.S. Strategic Command; however, in December 2018, the Trump administration directed that U.S. Space Command instead be reestablished as a full unified combatant command, with full responsibilities for space warfighting held under U.S. Strategic Command.[12][13]

On March 26, 2019, U.S. Air Force General John W. Raymond was nominated to be Commander of the reestablished USSPACECOM, pending Senate approval.[14][15]

In 2019 the Air Force released that the list of finalists for the Headquarters of Space Command were Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, Buckley Air Force Base, Vandenberg Air Force Base, and Redstone Arsenal.[16]

U.S. Space Command was officially reestablished on August 29, 2019 during a ceremony at the White House.[17] The former Joint Force Space Component Commander was dissolved and folded into Space Command.

USSPACECOM has two subordinate commands: Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC), and Joint Task Force Space Defense (JTF-SD) with commanders AF Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, and Army BG Gen. Tom James, respectively.[18] CFSCC plans, integrates, conducts, and assesses global space operations in order to deliver combat relevant space capabilities to Combatant Commanders, Coalition partners, the Joint Force, and the Nation. JTF-SD conducts, in unified action with mission partners, space superiority operations to deter aggression, defend U.S. and allied interests, and defeat adversaries throughout the continuum of conflict.[2][18]

Commanders

Commander–in–Chief, United States Space Command
No. Portrait Name Term Service branch
Took office Left office Duration
1
General
Robert T. Herres		23 September 1985[19]6 February 19871 year, 136 days
U.S. Air Force
2
General
John L. Piotrowski		6 February 19871 April 19903 years, 84 days
U.S. Air Force
3
General
Donald J. Kutyna		1 April 199030 June 19922 years, 60 days
U.S. Air Force
4
General
Chuck Horner		30 June 199213 September 19942 years, 75 days
U.S. Air Force
5
General
Joseph W. Ashy		13 September 199426 August 19961 year, 348 days
U.S. Air Force
6
General
Howell M. Estes III		26 August 199614 August 19981 year, 353 days
U.S. Air Force
7
General
Richard B. Myers		14 August 199822 February 20001 year, 192 days
U.S. Air Force
8
General
Ralph Eberhart		22 February 20001 October 20022 years, 221 days
U.S. Air Force

Commander, Joint Space Operations (Strategic Command)
No. Portrait Name Term Service branch
Took office Left office Duration
1
Major General
William L. Shelton		18 May 200519 July 20061 year, 62 days
U.S. Air Force

Commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Space (Strategic Command)
No. Portrait Name Term Service branch
Took office Left office Duration
1
Lieutenant General
William L. Shelton		19 July 20069 December 20082 years, 143 days
U.S. Air Force
2
Lieutenant General
Larry D. James		9 December 200821 January 20112 years, 43 days
U.S. Air Force
3
Lieutenant General
Susan Helms		21 January 201131 January 20143 years, 10 days
U.S. Air Force
4
Lieutenant General
John W. Raymond		31 January 201414 August 20151 year, 195 days
U.S. Air Force
5
Lieutenant General
David J. Buck		14 August 20151 December 20172 years, 109 days
U.S. Air Force

Commander, Joint Force Space Component Command (Strategic Command)
No. Portrait Name Term Service branch
Took office Left office Duration
1
General
John W. Raymond		1 December 201729 August 20191 year, 271 days
U.S. Air Force

Commander, United States Space Command
No. Portrait Name Term Service branch Vice Commander Senior Enlisted Leader
Took office Left office Duration
1
General
John W. Raymond		29 August 2019Incumbent352 days
U.S. Space Force		Lieutenant General
James H. Dickinson, USA		Chief Master Sergeant
Roger A. Towberman, USSF

Commanders of Space Command by branches of service[20]
  • Air Force: 8[21]
  • Space Force: 1
  • Army: none
  • Marine Corps: none
  • Navy: none
  • Coast Guard: none
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See also
  • Joint Space Command (France)

References
  1. "Air Force Magazine". Air Force Association. December 21, 2006 – via Google Books.
  2. "United States Space Command Fact Sheet". United States Space Command. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  3. "Leadership". www.spacecom.mil.
  4. Handberg, Roger (2000). Seeking New World Vistas: The Militarization of Space. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 109. ISBN 0-275-96295-4.
  5. "History". www.smdc.army.mil.
  6. https://spacenews.com/dickinson-reorganizes-army-space-command-as-he-prepares-move-to-u-s-spacecom/
  7. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=108434
  8. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/07/24/where-do-space-force-and-space-command-fit-into-the-pentagons-cyber-plans/
  9. "United States Space Command". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  10. "History of the Unified Command Plan" (PDF). www.jcs.mil. 2013. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  11. Shugart, Gary (1 October 2018). "Re-establishing U.S. Space Command". purview.dodlive.mil. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  12. "Trump Signs National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019". American Institute of Physics. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  13. Trump, Donald J. (18 December 2018). "Text of a Memorandum from the President to the Secretary of Defense Regarding the Establishment of the United States Space Command". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  14. Erwin, Sandra (26 March 2019). "Trump nominates Raymond to be commander of U.S. Space Command". SpaceNews. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  15. Pawlyk, Oriana (26 March 2019). "Air Force General Tapped to Head US Space Command". Military.com. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  16. Browne, Ryan (5 April 2019). "Trump's Space Command to be based in Colorado, Alabama or California". CNN. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  17. Mehta, Aaron (20 August 2019). "Space Command to launch Aug. 29". Defense News. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  18. Hitchens, Theresa (30 August 2019). "Raymond's First SPACECOM Move: Two New Subcommands and Their Leaders". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  19. http://www.space-library.com/0908AFM_SpaceAlmanac.pdf
  20. Excluding predecessors serving in Strategic Command functional commands
  21. General John W. Raymond was an Air Force officer when he was appointed as the commander. However since he was transferred to the Space Force, he is not included in this count.
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