Space Systems Command’s legacy began in 1954, when the U.S. Air Force was looking for a location for the service’s development of space capabilities. Air Force leadership found Los Angeles County had the right combination of a technically adept workforce and military presence for a crash program to develop missiles, launch vehicles and satellites during the height of the Cold War.
For the past seven decades, what was originally formed as the Air Force’s Western Development Division by Air Force Gen. Bernard Schriever and a Space Force field command since 2021, has become the leading organization responsible for acquiring and delivering capabilities to protect U.S. strategic interests in space, including managing a $15.6 billion space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense.
“The Cold War and the Space Race (eras) are very similar to what we’re getting after today, with the great power competition – we have to use innovation and game changing technologies to do this, and that’s the heritage and legacy that SSC has and brings to the fight,” said Space Force Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant, SSC commander, during an Aug. 13 celebration of the command’s and Western Development Division’s 70th anniversaries. The command’s success in an era of competition with other nations in space depends on its unique mix of active Guardians, Airmen and civilian staff, he said.
“We know we’re going to have to keep up with game changing technologies and we know we’re going to require amazing space force acquisition leaders, like you, to get after this fight,” Garrant told audiences at Los Angeles Air Force Base, where SSC is headquartered, and virtual at SSC operating locations across the United States. “I’m excited to be your commander and watch you grow and get ready for our next anniversary, and everything that SSC is going to bring to the warfighters. Semper Supra!”
With a workforce of more than 15,000 personnel across 29 locations, SSC’s presence strengthens deterrence. The command expects to support more than 150 launches in 2024 and as many as 200 in 2025.
During the celebration event, 15 SSC individuals and teams from across the command received awards recognizing their achievements in a variety of areas across project management, space acquisition innovation, time and budget savings on projects to bringing forward new capabilities for the command. Those accomplishments are examples of the sort of capabilities the staff have delivered on in the three years since the command was created in 2021, said Air Force Col. Michelle K. Idle, SSC’s deputy commander.
“We’re three years into this adventure called Space Systems Command, and the environment is just as challenging as it was when we stood up,” said Idle, who is responsible for managing the research, design, development, acquisition and sustainment of space and missile systems. “The ‘front’ has not let up – it has evolved.”
Reflecting on today’s environment of Great Power Competition, Idle also discussed the growth in recent years of the space capabilities of both China and Russia, and the potential threats both could pose to U.S. military and civilian space operations. China’s space program has grown to become second to the U.S., supplanting Russia, in terms of operational satellites in Earth orbit.
“They’re also heavily investing in counter-space capabilities, with an intent to pose a serious threat to our capabilities,” Idle told the standing room only crowd at LAAFB. “Russia’s right behind them … they’re researching, developing, testing, developing counterspace systems; again, trying to disrupt and degrade the systems that we’re putting up there to provide for our way of life and our warfighters.”
Along with the third anniversary of Space Systems Command and the 70th anniversary of the Western Development Division, the service is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Space Force, as well as the 10th (2024) class of the Schriever Wall of Honor, a monument at LAAFB named after Gen. Schriever that honors American space pioneers. The induction ceremony for that event is set for Sept. 26 at SSC headquarters.
