Air Force Space Command

Air Force Space Command
Air Force Space Command emblem
Active	September 1, 1982–present
Country	United States of America
Branch	Air Force
Type	Major Command
Role	Development and operation of military space technologies
Size	47,000
Part of	U.S. Strategic Command
Garrison/HQ	Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Nickname	AFSPC
Commanders
Commander	William L. Shelton Gen William L. Shelton
Vice Commander	Lt Gen Michael J Basla
Chief Master Sergeant	CMSgt Richard T. Small

Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) 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 under the Combatant Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command

Approximately 47,000 people, including 25,400 active-duty service members and civilian employees, and 14,000 contractor employees, perform AFSPC missions at 88 locations worldwide. Its 25,400 employees are divided into approximately 7,100 military personnel and 18,300 civilian employees, although their missions overlap.

On December 1, 2009, the intercontinental ballistic missile mission was transferred to the new Air Force Global Strike Command. AFSPC gained the cyber operations mission with the stand-up of 24th Air Force under AFSPC in August 2009.

Mission

According to AFSPC, its mission is "To provide an integrated constellation of space and cyberspace capabilities at the speed of need."^[1] AFSPC claims its activities make space reliable to United States warfighters (i.e. forces personnel) by assuring their access to space.

AFSPC's primary mission areas:

• Space forces support involves launching satellites and other high-value payloads into space using a variety of expendable launch vehicles and operating those satellites once in the medium of space.
• Space control ensures friendly use of space through the conduct of counterspace operations encompassing surveillance, negation, protection and space intelligence analysis.^[2]
• Force enhancement provides weather, communications, intelligence, missile warning, and navigation. Force enhancement is support to the warfighter.

History

During the Cold War, space operations focused on missile warning, and command and control for the National Command Authority. Missile warning and space operations were combined to form what was known as Space Command in 1982. Following the creation of United States Space Command, a Unified Combatant Command, in 1985, Space Command was renamed Air Force Space Command. In 1991, Operation Desert Storm provided emphasis for the command's new focus on support to the warfighter. ICBM forces were merged into AFSPC in 1993 and then moved to Air Force Global Strike Command in 2009. Air Force Space Command became the lead Major Command for Air Force cyberspace operations in 2009, gaining Air Force cyber operations and combat communications units and the Air Force Network Integration Center and Air Force Spectrum Management Office (formerly known as the Air Force Frequency Management Agency).

List of Commanders

No.	Image	Name	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
1.		Gen. James V. Hartinger	September 1, 1982	July 30, 1984	[3]
2.		Gen. Robert T. Herres	July 30, 1984	October 1, 1986
3.		Maj. Gen. Maurice C. Padden	October 1, 1986	October 29, 1987
4.		Lt. Gen. Donald J. Kutyna	October 29, 1987	March 29, 1990
5.		Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr.	March 29, 1990	March 23, 1992
6.		Gen. Donald J. Kutyna	March 23, 1992	June 30, 1992
7.		Gen. Charles A. Horner	June 30, 1992	September 13, 1994
8.		Gen. Joseph W. Ashy	September 13, 1994	August 26, 1996
9.		Gen. Howell M. Estes III	August 26, 1996	August 14, 1998
10.		Gen. Richard B. Myers	August 14, 1998	February 22, 2000
11.		Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart	February 22, 2000	April 19, 2002
12.		Gen. Lance W. Lord	April 19, 2002	April 1, 2006
Acting		Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz	April 1, 2006	June 26, 2006
13.		Gen. Kevin P. Chilton	June 26, 2006	October 3, 2007
Acting		Lt. Gen. Michael A. Hamel	October 3, 2007	October 12, 2007
14.		Gen. C. Robert Kehler	October 12, 2007	January 5, 2011
15.		Gen. William L. Shelton	January 5, 2011	Incumbent

Organization

Numbered Air Forces

Air Force Space Command has two active Numbered Air Forces (NAFs).

Fourteenth Air Force

The Fourteenth Air Force 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 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.^[4]

Twenty-Fourth Air Force

The Twenty-fourth Air Force, with the cyber operations mission, was activated under AFSPC in August 2009, at Lackland Air Force Base.^[5]

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.

Space Innovation and Development Center

The Space Innovation and Development Center (SIDC) at Schriever AFB, Colorado is also part of the command. The center plays a major role in fully integrating space systems into the operational Air Force. Its force enhancement mission looks at ways to use space systems to support warfighters in the areas of navigation, weather, intelligence, communications and theater ballistic missile warning, and how these apply to theater operations.

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 6 AFSPC host bases:

• Buckley AFB, Colorado
  • 460th Space Wing
• Los Angeles AFB, California
  • Space and Missile Systems Center
  • 61st Air Base Wing
  • Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing
  • Global Positioning Systems Wing
  • Space-Based Infrared Systems Wing
  • Launch and Range Systems Wing
  • Space Superiority Systems Wing
  • Space Development and Test Wing (Kirtland AFB, New Mexico)
  • 526th ICBM Systems Group (Hill AFB, Utah)
• Patrick AFB, Florida
  • 45th Space Wing
• Peterson AFB, Colorado
  • 21st Space Wing
  • 821st Air Base Group (Thule Air Base, Greenland)
• Schriever AFB, Colorado
  • 50th Space Wing
  • Space Innovation and Development Center
• Vandenberg AFB, California
  • 14th Air Force
  • 30th Space Wing
  • 148th Space Operations Squadron

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
• Clear Air Force Station, Alaska
  • 13th Space Warning Squadron
• New Boston AFS, New Hampshire
  • 23d Space Operations Squadron
• Onizuka AFS, California
  • 21st Space Operations Squadron
  • Slated for closure in July 2010 ^[6]

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.

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

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

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. military, primarily the Air Force. The Air Force Space Command patch was in those series’ worn by personnel at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, and onboard various fictional spaceships.

See also

United States Air Force portal

• United States Space Surveillance Network

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://www.afspc.af.mil".

External links

• Air Force Space Command History and Heritage
• Official Fact Sheet

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