The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and the world’s only dedicated independent space force.^[8] Along with the U.S. Air Force, the Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force, led by the secretary of the Air Force.^[9] The military heads of the Space Force are the chief of space operations, who is one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and vice chief of space operations.

The Space Force is the smallest U.S. armed service, consisting of 8,600 military personnel.^[1] The Space Force operates 77 spacecraft in total across various programs such as GPS, Space Fence, military satellite communications constellations, X-37B spaceplanes, U.S. missile warning system, U.S. space surveillance network, and the Satellite Control Network. Under the Goldwater–Nichols Act, the Space Force is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping space forces, which are then presented to the unified combatant commands, predominantly to United States Space Command, for operational employment.