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Updated January 11, 2022
Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
On December 20, 2019, the United States Space Force
civilian personnel management, IT support, and financial
(USSF) became the sixth branch of the Armed Forces. The
management.
Space Force was established within the Department of the
Air Force (DAF) with the enactment of the FY2020
Space Force Stand-Up
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The
The FY2020 NDAA re-designated Air Force Space
Secretary of the Air Force is responsible for organizing,
Command (AFSPC), located at Peterson Air Force Base,
training, and equipping the Space Force and the United
CO, as the U.S. Space Force with Title 10 authorization.
States Air Force (USAF), two separate and distinct military
Subsequently, an estimated 16,000 military and civilian
uniformed services (see Figure 1). The first and present
personnel assigned to the former AFSPC were originally
Chief of Space Operations (CSO) is General John W. “Jay”
reassigned to the Space Force. According to DOD, space-
Raymond, who serves as the principal uniformed advisor
related Air Force personnel will transfer into the Space
for all space activities to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Force and become Space Force Guardians in a deliberate
manner. They also plan to consolidate space missions from
Figure 1. Space Force Within DOD and DAF
across the Armed Forces into the Space Force as
appropriate and consistent with law.
Mission
The U.S. Space Force is responsible for organizing,
training, and equipping Space Guardians to conduct global
space operations that enhance the way joint and coalition
forces fight, while also offering decision makers military
options to achieve national objectives. Other
responsibilities include “developing military space
professionals, acquiring military space systems, maturing
the military doctrine for space power, and organizing space
forces to present to our Combatant Commands.” DOD has
said that the Space Force was formed to be lean, agile, and
mission-focused in order to remove the traditional layers of
bureaucracy. Some of the Space Force missions include
Space Superiority; Space Domain Awareness (military,
civil, and commercial); Offense and Defensive Space
Control; Command and Control of Space Forces & Satellite
Operations; Space Support Nuclear Command, Control,
Source: Comprehensive Plan on the Organizational Structure of
Communications; and Missile Warning/Defense
USSF (Department of the Air Force, report to congressional
Operations.
committees).
Space Force Organization
Overview
The Office of the Chief of Space Operations and the Space
The FY2020 NDAA assigned the Space Force the
Force Headquarters are located at the Pentagon. According
to the Space Force, “t
following duties: (1) protect the interests of the United
his staff will focus on establishing a
States in space; (2) deter aggression in, from, and to space;
fully-functioning headquarters; preparing to execute the full
and (3) conduct space operations. The military space forces
scope of its organize, train, and equip responsibilities; and,
provide freedom of operation in, from, and to the space
in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, developing a
domain. This includes both combat and space-focused
detailed plan to transfer forces into the U.S. Space Force.”
combat support functions intended to enable the United
To pursue its goal of being lean, agile, and mission-focused
States to promptly conduct offensive and defensive space
and to remove the traditional layers of bureaucracy, the
operations to protect U.S. and allied interests in all war-
Space Force created a command hierarchy (see Figure 2)
fighting domains.
that consists of three levels: Field Commands led by a
three-star general officer; Deltas, by a Colonel; and
Except for functions unique to the space domain, in order to
Squadrons, by field grade officers. The career tracks within
reduce cost and avoid duplication, the Space Force relies on
the Space Force include space-specific operations,
the Air Force for approximately 75% of its enabling
intelligence, engineering, acquisition, science, and
functions; for example, logistics, base operating support,
cyber/communications.
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Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
Figure 2. Space Force Organizational Structure
equipment. The major acquisition programs include the
following:
The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program
provides launch services for the Space Force, Air Force,
Navy, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO),
Space Development Agency (SDA), and many other
government agencies. This program provides assured
access to space for the nation.
The Global Positioning System Enterprise provides
24-hour-a-day, worldwide coverage, including all-
weather 3-dimentional positioning, navigation, and
timing (PNT) for military and civilian users.
The Space Based Overhead Persistent Infrared
(OPIR) Systems provides the initial warning of
strategic missile attacks against the United States
homeland, as well as deployed and allied forces.
The Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Projects
provides SATCOM in three capability areas: strategic
provides Nuclear Command, Control, and
Communications (NC3); protected enables tactical
communications in contested environments; and
Source: Figure created by CRS using data from U.S. Space Force.
wideband/narrowband provides large amounts of
throughput in a less contested environment.
FY2021 (Initial) and FY2022 Budget
The inaugural budget request submitted by the Space Force
Congressional Reports
was for $15.4 billion. The initial request provided space
The FY2020 NDAA directed the Secretary of the Air Force
warfighting capabilities and included a total personnel end
and the Secretary of Defense to provide various reports and
strength for FY2021 of 9,979 people:
briefings to the congressional defense committees on the
establishment of the U.S. Space Force. The first report,
6,434 military end strength in the active Space Force,
Comprehensive Plan for the Organizational Structure of the
and
U.S. Space Force, was delivered to Congress in February
3,545 in civilian full-time equivalents.
2020, followed by the official Space Force organizational
structure in June 2020. As DOD and DAF continue to
The FY2021 budget request included resources to build and
refine planning efforts, updates are to be provided
staff its headquarters and field centers. The estimated
accordingly.
personnel level within the headquarters and field centers
was approximately 553 in FY2021, with an estimated end
strength of 1,800 by FY2025. The overall FY2022 budget
Relevant Laws
request was for $17.5 billion and included four major
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (P.L.
investment areas for space-based systems ($16.7 billion), as
116-92)
shown in Table 1.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (P.L.
Table 1. FY2022 Space-Based Systems ($16.7 Billion)
117-81)
Title 10, U.S. Code, Chapter 803 – Department of the Air
Type
FY2022
Force
Support
$8.7
Technology Development
$4.7
CRS Products
Launch
$1.7
CRS In Focus IF10547, Defense Primer: The United States Air
Satellites
$1.6
Force, by Jeremiah Gertler
CRS In Focus IF11326, Military Space Reform: FY2020 NDAA
Total
$16.7
Legislative Proposals, by Stephen M. McCall
Source: Program Acquisition Cost By Weapon System (Department of
Defense Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request).
Major Space Acquisition Programs
The FY2022 budget request for space-based systems
Stephen M. McCall, Analyst in Military Space, Missile
included funding for the development and procurement of
Defense, and Defense Innovation
space-based spacecraft, launch vehicles, space command
and control systems, and terrestrial satellite terminals and
IF11495
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Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
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