Space Delta 13 (DEL 13) is a

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 ...

unit responsible for space education. It offers advanced and developmental space education courses for the Space Force and its joint and allied partners. It was established on 23 August 2021 following the establishment of the

Space Training and Readiness Command Space Training and Readiness Command (STAR Command or STARCOM) is the United States Space Force's education, training, doctrine, and test field command. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Space Training and Readiness C ...

, the

field command The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas. The Space Force is organized as one of two coequal military service branches within the Department of the Air Force, the ...

to which it reports. It is temporarily headquartered at

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, but its final location requires a base selection process.

History

DEL 13's lineage can be traced back to 1 October 1984 when the

Air Training Command The Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated ...

activated the 3430th Technical Training Group (3430 TCHTG) under the 3400th Technical Training Wing at

Lowry Air Force Base Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field from 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War. From 1955-1958, it served as the i ...

, Colorado, responsible for all training related the space operations mission in support of the

Air Force Space Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

. It initially composed of the 3423d Technical Training Squadron (3423 TCHTS) with operating locations in Sunnyvale Air Force Station and

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

. That year, it had 67 instructors, teaching 33 courses and trained 973 officers and enlisted personnel. In 1987, it gained a second squadron, the 3454th Technical Training Squadron (3454 TCHTS). The 3423 TCHTG was inactivated on 1 September 1991. Prior to the activation of

(STARCOM), the 3423 TCHTG was redesignated as Space Delta 13 (DEL 13) on 19 August 2021. During the activation of STARCOM on 23 August 2021, DEL 13 was one of the five deltas activated as part of the new field command. A ceremony was held on 13 September 2021 at

, to signify the activation of DEL 13. It was formed by consolidating various space education units such as the

National Security Space Institute The National Security Space Institute (NSSI) is a unit in the United States Space Force's Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM). Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, it provides space professional military education to ...

(NSSI) and the Forrest L. Vosler Non-Commissioned Officer Academy (Vosler NCO Academy) and two detachments that serve as liaisons to the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

and Air University. Additionally, the 13th Delta Operations Squadron was activated on 15 September 2021 to provide operational support to DEL 13. DEL 13 is temporarily based at Maxwell while a permanent location will be determined through the strategic basing process. Instead of standing up its own war college like other services, the Space Force in 2023 partnered with the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

School of Advanced International Studies for its intermediate and senior

professional military education Professional Military Education (PME) is the professional training, development, and schooling of military personnel. It encompasses many schools, universities, and training programs designed to foster leadership in military service members. Furthe ...

Structure

DEL 13 is one of five

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

s that reports to the

. It is composed of the following six subordinate units, three squadrons and three detachments:

List of commanders

References

External links

Fact Sheet
{{United States Space Force Deltas of the United States Space Force Military units and formations established in 1984 Military units and formations disestablished in 1991 Military units and formations established in 2021