Part ofa series on
Spaceflight
History History of spaceflight Space Race Timeline of spaceflight Space probes Lunar missions Mars missions
Applications Communications Earth observation Exploration Espionage Military Navigation Colonization Habitation Exploration Telescopes Tourism
Spacecraft Robotic spacecraft Satellite Space probe Cargo spacecraft Crewed spacecraft Apollo Lunar Module Space capsules Space Shuttle Space stations Spaceplanes Vostok
Space launch Spaceport Launch pad Expendable andreusablelaunch vehicles Escape velocity Non-rocket spacelaunch
Spaceflight types Sub-orbital Orbital Interplanetary Interstellar Intergalactic
List of space organizations Space agencies Space forces Companies
Spaceflight portal
v t e

Aspace command is amilitary organization with responsibility for space operations and warfare. A space command is typically ajoint organization or organized within a largermilitary branch and is distinct from a fully independentspace force. The world's first space command, the United States'Air Force Space Command was established in 1982 and later became theUnited States Space Force in 2019.

In the United States and Soviet Union, the early military space programs were managed by individual military services. In the United States, the Air Force and its various major commands were responsible for military space operations, however Air Defense Command was responsible for the majority of space operations. In 1967, it was redesignatedAerospace Defense Command to emphasize its increased space role. Following the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command in 1980, U.S. space forces were briefly organized underStrategic Air Command, before being organized intoSpace Command, which was activated in 1982. Space Command, which was the first space command in the world, was redesignated Air Force Space Command in 1985 to distinguish it from the joint U.S. Space Command. The Army and Navy, both possessing smaller space capabilities, both had their own space commands, withNaval Space Command activated in 1983 andArmy Space Command activated in 1988.^[1]

Soviet space forces were organized under theStrategic Rocket Forces'Central Directorate of Space Assets, which was activated in 1964, before being upgraded to theMain Directorate of Space Assets in 1970.^[2] TheSoviet Air Defense Forces'Anti-Ballistic Missile and Anti-Space Defense Forces were activated in 1967 and remained a part from the Strategic Missile Forces' space forces.^[3]

In 1959, fearing U.S. Air Force dominance of the military space program, theUnited States Navy'schief of naval operations, AdmiralArleigh Burke, proposed the creation of a Defense Astronautical Agency to manage U.S. military space operations. The proposal of a joint space command did not come to pass until 1985, whenUnited States Space Command was activated to manage U.S. military space activities, overseeing Air Force Space Command, Naval Space Command, and Army Space Command.^[4] The Soviet Union also rose the profile of their space forces, moving theMain Directorate of Space Assets from the Strategic Missile Forces to theSoviet Armed Forces General Staff in 1982, before upgrading it into theChief Directorate of Space Assets and placing it directly in theMinistry of Defence in 1986.^[2] In 1981, the U.S.–Canadian North American Air Defense Command was redesignated as theNorth American Aerospace Defense Command, emphasizing its space role.^[4]

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Soviet space forces were reorganized into Russia'sMilitary Space Forces and theRussian Air Defence Forces'Rocket and Space Defence Troops. In 1997, both were merged into the Strategic Rocket Forces, before being split out in 2001 as theRussian Space Forces, which was an independent troops, but not a full independent service.^[5] U.S. Army space forces also underwent reorganization, with the Army Space Command being merged with its missile defense forces to formArmy Space and Strategic Defense Command in 1992, being redesignated asArmy Space and Missile Defense Command in 1997.^[6]

With theSeptember 11 Attacks, U.S. space forces were sidelined with the change in focus to theWar on Terror. In 2002, U.S. Space Command was inactivated and its joint space responsibilities were transferred toUnited States Strategic Command andNaval Space Command was inactivated, transferring most of its capabilities to Air Force Space Command. Starting in 2005, U.S. Strategic Command began to organize its space forces semi–independently, first asJoint Space Operations, then in 2006 as theJoint Functional Component Command for Space, and in 2017 theJoint Force Space Component Command.^[7] In 2019, the United States reestablishedUnited States Space Command, and in 2020, reorganized Air Force Space Command into theUnited States Space Force, becoming a full independent military branch, withSpace Operations Command serving as its primary space command. To support U.S. Space Command, in 2020 the Navy createdNavy Space Command, withUnited States Tenth Fleet as its operational arm, out of Fleet Cyber Command.^[8]

Recognizing the growing importance of space operations, France created theJoint Space Command within theFrench Air Force in 2010 to manage its space capabilities, reorganizing it into theFrench Space Command as part of a larger transformation of the French Air Force into theFrench Air and Space Force in 2019.^[9] Russia also reorganized their Space Forces, merging together their Space Forces and air defense elements of the Russian Air Force to form theRussian Aerospace Defense Forces in 2011, moving the space elements into the Aerospace Defense Forces'Russian Space Command.^[10] In 2015, it reorganized its space forces again, merging the Russian Air Force and Russian Aerospace Defense Forces to form theRussian Aerospace Forces and recreating the Russian Space Forces as a sub-branch, replacing the Russian Space Command.^[11] In 2015, thePeople's Liberation Army also centralized their space forces as part of the newStrategic Support Force's Space Systems Department.^[12] In 2018, India centralized its space forces in a tri-serviceDefence Space Agency, which is expected to become a full command in the coming years.^[13][14] In 2020, Iran also unveiled their own Space Command under theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force.^[15] In 2020,NATO also established a Space Centre as part ofAllied Air Command.^[16] In 2021, theBritish Armed Forces establishedUnited Kingdom Space Command as a joint command under the leadership of theRoyal Air Force, taking over space responsibilities fromUnited Kingdom Strategic Command.^[17] In 2021, theRoyal Australian Air ForceChief of Air Force announced the intended creation of an Australian Space Command.^[18]

• Space Command (Australian Defence Force integrated tri-service headquarters withinJoint Capabilities Group (JCG))
• Space Operations Group (part of theJapan Air Self-Defense Force)
• Aerospace Operations Command (part of theBrazilian Air Force)
• North American Aerospace Defense Command (multinational command)
• Space Systems Department [zh] (part of thePeople's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force)
• French Space Command (part of theFrench Air and Space Force)
• Defence Space Agency (Indian Armed Forces joint command)
• Iranian Space Command (part of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force)
• Space Operations Command (Italian Armed Forces joint command)
• NATO Space Centre (part ofAllied Air Command)
• Russian Space Forces (part of theRussian Aerospace Forces)
• United Kingdom Space Command (British Armed Forces joint command)
• United States Space Command (United States Armed Forces joint command)
  • Space Operations Command (part of theUnited States Space Force)
  • Army Space and Missile Defense Command (part of theUnited States Army)
  • Navy Space Command (part of theUnited States Navy)

• Emblems of various space commands
• 
  Shield ofNorth American Aerospace Defense Command
• 
  Emblem of theFrench Space Command
• 
  Current seal ofUnited States Space Command
• 
  Former seal ofUnited States Space Command
  (1985–2002)
• 
  Emblem of U.S. Space ForceSpace Operations Command
• 
  Shield of U.S.Air Force Space Command
  (1982–2019)
• 
  Shield of U.S. Air ForceAerospace Defense Command
  (1967–1980)
• 
  Shoulder sleeve insignia of U.S.Army Space and Missile Defense Command
• 
  Seal of U.S.Navy Space Command
• 
  Seal of U.S.Naval Space Command
  (1983–2002)
• 
  Insignia of the AustralianDefence Space Command
• 
  Emblem of the JapaneseSpace Operations Group
• 
  Emblem of theBrazilian Space Command
• 
  Emblem of theRussian Space Forces
• 
  Emblem of theChinese Strategic Space Forces

• Space force

• Types of military forces
• Outer space
• Space law
• Space warfare

• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata