The

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...

's 5th Space Launch Squadron is a space launch unit located at

Patrick Space Force Base Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, United States Army Air Corps, ...

, Florida. The 5th SLS is tasked with launch and support of the National Security Space Launch,

Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle National Security Space Launch (NSSL) is a program of the United States Space Force (USSF) intended to assure access to space for United States Department of Defense and other United States government payloads. The program is managed by the Assure ...

History

The 5th Space Launch Squadron was activated on 14 April 1994 at

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

, Florida as part of the Space Launch Delta 45, previously 45th Space Wing. The squadron conducted

Titan IV Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air Forc ...

booster launch operations, launching classified military payloads into orbit until it was inactivated in June 1998. The squadron was reactivated on 1 December 2003, and provides launch site mission assurance for all National Security Space Launch mission and has supervised assembly, testing and launch of commercial space boosters from

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

since then.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 5th Space Launch Squadron on 29 March 1994 : Activated on 14 April 1994 : Inactivated on 29 June 1998 : Activated on 1 December 2003

Assignments

45th Operations Group The 45th Operations Group was a United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to 45th Space Wing, stationed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. In May 2021, it was inactivated and its assetts reassigned to Space Launch Delta 45. Up ...

, 14 April 1994 – 29 June 1998 *

45th Launch Group The 45th Launch Group is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 45th Space Wing, stationed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Overview The 45th Launch Group participates in receipt, inspection, processing, test, and la ...

, 1 December 2003 – present *

Space Launch Delta 45 The Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45) is a unit of the United States Space Force. The Space Launch Delta 45 is assigned to Space Systems Command and headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The wing also controls Cape Canaveral Space Fo ...

, – present

Stations

* Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, 14 April 1994 – 29 June 1998 * Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, 1 December 2003 – present

Launch vehicles

, 1994–1998 *

Delta IV Delta IV was a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta rocket family. It flew 45 missions from 2002 to 2024. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) p ...

, 2003–present *

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to ...

, 2003–present *

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket consists of a center core ...

* Vulcan

List of commanders

*Lt Col David Schill, June 2021 – presentDavid Schill LinkedIn Profile

References

Bibliography

{{USAF Space Command Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military units and formations in Florida Military units and formations established in 1994