U.S. Space Command | ![]() |
The United States Space Command is the newest service branch. It is a unified combatant
command responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations
above 62 miles above the earth.
Early iterations of Space Command, generally housed under the authority and control of the
Air Force, provided support during the Falklands War, the US invasion of Grenada, the 1986
US bombing of Libya, the US invasion of Panama, and the Gulf War. An early version of the
Space Command was created in 1985 to provide joint command and control for all military
forces in outer space and coordinate with the other combatant commands. For a variety of
reasons, many of these functions were subsequently transferred to the United States
Strategic Command.
However, the global space race and a reemphasized focus on space as a war-fighting domain
forced the Department of Defense to rethink the need for an independent command. With a
growing realization of the emerging and unique nature of the military implications of space
development, the need for a separate and distinct Space Command was established. Finally
in August of 2019, the U.S. Space Command was established as a full, unified combatant
command, with full responsibilities for space war fighting.