Space force
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A space force is a
Countries with smaller or developing space forces may combine their air and space forces under a single military branch, such as the Russian Aerospace Forces, Spanish Air and Space Force, French Air and Space Force, or Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, or put them in an independent defense agency, such as the Indian Defence Space Agency. Countries with nascent military space capabilities usually organize them within their air forces.[1]
History
-
Insignia of the Russian Space Forces
The first artificial object to cross the
In the United States, there was a fierce
During the 1960s and 1970s, Air Force space forces were organized within
In the Soviet Union, the early space program was led by the
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Russian Federation gained its space forces, with the Chief Directorate of Space Assets was reorganized into the
In 1998, the Chinese People's Liberation Army began creating its space forces under the General Armaments Department, before being reorganized and renamed as the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force Space Systems Department in 2015.[14][15] The PLASSF itself would eventually dissolve, with the space force element of the SSF becoming the People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force[16]
In 2010, the French Armed Forces created the Joint Space Command, a joint organism under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff. In 2019, the French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Joint Space Command would become the Space Command and the newest major command of the Air Force, which would be renamed to reflect an "evolution of its mission" into the area of outer space.[17] The Space Command is effective since 2019 and the Air Force was renamed Air and Space Force on 24 July 2020, with its new logo unveiled on 11 September 2020.[18]
The Spanish Government announced in June 2022, that the Spanish Air Force would be renamed as the Spanish Air and Space Force.[19]
Space forces
The following list outlines the independent space forces currently in operation:
- United States Space Force (2019–present)
- People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force (2024–present)
- Russian Space Forces (2015–present) (independent from 1992 to 1997 and 2001 to 2011)
See also
- List of space forces, units, and formations
- Ranks and insignia of space forces
- Militarisation of space
- Politics of outer space
- Space Force Association
References
- ^ a b c "As Trump pushes for separate space force, Russia moves fast the other way". Defense News. 21 June 2018.
- ^ Richard Hollingham8th September 2014 (2014-09-08). "V2: The Nazi rocket that launched the space age - BBC Future". Bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - OCLC 20826476. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- OCLC 831675552. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ Spires, David (1998). "Beyond Horizons" (PDF). Air Force Space Command in association with Air University Press.
- ISBN 9781588344854. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ a b "History : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation". Eng.mil.ru. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Hendrickx, Bart (2018-07-16). "Self-defense in space: protecting Russian spacecraft from ASAT attacks". The Space Review. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ a b "История : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". Structure.mil.ru. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Russian Public TV (ORT), Moscow, in Russian 1700 gmt March 28, 2001, via BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
- ^ "Russian Space Forces (VKS)". www.globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "Russian and Chinese Responses to U.S. Military Plans in Space | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Amacad.org. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Bodner, Matthew (2015-08-03). "Russian Military Merges Air Force and Space Command". Themoscowtimes.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Stokes, Mark A.; Cheng, Dean (26 April 2012). "China's evolving space capabilities: Implications for US interests". The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
- ^ "Welcome - Defense One". Cdn.defenseone.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ Desai, Suyash (21 April 2024). "PLA SSF scrapped, it's now the PLA ISF: What does it mean?". The Economic Times.
- ^ "French President Emmanuel Macron announces creation of French space force". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01.
- ^ "France: Goodbye Air Force, hello Air and Space Force". Aviation 24. 12 September 2020.
- ^ Cedeira, Brais (2022-06-27). "El Ejército del Aire cambia de nombre tras 83 años y pasa a llamarse Ejército del Aire y del Espacio". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-27.