“Is the Space Force real?” This is a question I have heard more than once in the past year-and-a-half since my husband transferred from the Air Force to the Space Force.
There’s a lot of confusion on whether the newest branch is a military force or just a show on Netflix. As the Space Force approaches its third birthday on Dec. 20, more clarity is needed on its existence, why it was created and what its members actually do.
The truth is, my husband has been working in the space arena for most of his career. His work today is not much different from what he had been doing. Space research and exploration have been around for a long time. Even before the U.S. sent astronauts to the moon in 1969 – and the establishment of NASA in 1958 – research and exploration dates back to 1915.
And in 1982, the Air Force created the Air Force Space Command. As threats grew around the world, the need for a separate branch outside of the Air Force surfaced with the eventual creation of this new branch in 2019. While President Donald Trump pushed for its creation, it was an idea long since talked about and considered.
Another question I hear about the work my spouse does is, “Is he an astronaut?”
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No, he is not. Astronauts are often military members but more than likely are not members of the Space Force. Rather, they are still connected to their branch. Plus, NASA is a separate entity. Many of the astronauts were pilots before becoming astronauts. While NASA’s mission and focus is exploring space, the Space Force protects U.S. citizens and assets (satellites) flying around the globe.
“So, if your spouse isn’t an astronaut, what do they do?”
The truth is, we might not know what our spouses do, depending on the classification level of their work. Because classification levels are often changing based on the position or project, I have stopped asking questions about my husband’s day-to-day responsibilities.
Still, I know there are a lot of missions within the branch focused on designing, creating, building, launching and monitoring satellites, both classified and unclassified. The Space Force is in charge of updating and maintaining the Global Positioning System (GPS) network of satellites; managing launch operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Vandenberg Space Force Base, and other smaller launch locations around the U.S.; and, of course, a lot of other projects and assignments at a classified level.
So now you know. The Space Force exists. Its history began long before the branch was created. And the work its service members do is important and vast – even if we don’t always know exactly what it is.
There is still a lot more to come from this new branch as leaders continue to make choices on support structures for the future.
