Combined Space Operations Center established at Vandenberg AFB

 In 2017, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, U.S. Strategic Command commander, directed the transition. It is designed to improve coordination between the U.S., its allies, and commercial and civil partners for defensive space efforts. It will enhance individual and collective space capabilities in order to expand the overall multi-domain military effectiveness.   

Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, Joint Force Space Component Commander and commander of Air Force Space Command, presided over the ceremony. 

 “There’s never been a more exciting time for the combined team to come together, said Raymond. “Today’s establishment of the CSpOC is just the beginning, as our CSpOC family will continue to grow as we identify opportunities to work together with like-minded nations.”  

 The CSpOC ensures the combined space enterprise meets and outpaces emerging and advancing space threats. Conducting operations with allies and partners will improve space mission assurance, resilience and mutual security, broaden military relationships by leveraging capabilities, maximize effectiveness across all mission areas, and expand international partnerships in support of combined objectives.  

 “No one nation can do this alone,” added Raymond. “The partnerships we are forming today will no doubt lead to a more stable and sustainable space domain for years to come.”   

The CSpOC will provide input to develop and improve the ability to rapidly detect, warn, characterize, attribute, and defend against disturbances to space systems. The center will help to increase the resilience of the combined space enterprise and support the delivery of space-based capabilities for allies, partners and other responsible space-faring nations. These space capabilities allow decision makers to see the battlespace with clarity, strike with precision, navigate with accuracy, communicate with certainty, and operate with assurance over global distances.  

 Some missions the CSpOC will be responsible for directing are missile warning; positioning, navigation and timing; optimization and restoration of military satellite communications; theater battlespace awareness using overhead persistent infrared; environmental monitoring; theater support fires; defensive space situational awareness and space defense.  

 “We are improving our interoperability— both within the CSpOC and with our partner Space Operations Centers to improve coordination and enhance our individual and collective space capabilities to expand our effectiveness across all domains, said Col. Scott Brodeur, Director, Combined Space Operations Center and Commander, 614th Air Operations Center.   

Space is a warfighting domain, just like air, land, maritime and cyber. Strong partnerships are vital to tempering the would-be designs of those who might attack other nations. The CSpOC positions the U.S. and allied space forces to deter conflict from extending into, or starting in space; and, should deterrence fail, to fight and win.      

“Today is a very special day for the space community,” said Raymond. “I am proud of what we’ve achieved in the past, and I am excited to see where the CSpOC will go from here.”