Space Delta 8 (DEL 8) is the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the Space force, space service branch of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only inde ...

unit responsible for

satellite communications A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

and

position, navigation, and timing A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude/ elevation) to hi ...

. The Delta operates, among other

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellatio ...

, the Global Positioning System for both military and civilian users. It is headquartered at Schriever Space Force Base,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

History

Before the founding of an independent Space Force, the

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

's (AFSPC) 50th Operations Group (50 OG), part of the 50th Space Wing, performed the satellite communications and position, navigation, and timing missions. As part of the reorganization in the stand-up of Space Force, 50 OG was inactivated and DEL 8 was activated on 24 July 2020. On 8 February 2022, the

50th Operations Support Squadron The 50th Operations Support Squadron (50 OSS) was a United States Space Force unit assigned to Space Operations Command's Space Delta 8. It provided operations support to the delta by leading training, intelligence operations, tactics develop ...

was inactivated and the 8th Combat Training Squadron was activated. In September 2021, the Space Force publicly identified Army and Navy SATCOM units that would transfer to DEL 8. On 6 June 2022, the Naval Satellite Operations Center transferred as the

10th Space Operations Squadron The 10th Space Operations Squadron (10 SOPS) is the United States Space Force unit responsible for operating the Mobile User Objective System and Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On satellite constellations, providing global communications to the U ...

, followed on 29 June 2022 by the Army's 53rd Signal Battalion, which became the

53rd Space Operations Squadron The 53rd Space Operations Squadron (53 SOPS) is a United States Space Force unit. Assigned to the Space Operations Command's Space Delta 8, it is responsible for providing payload and transmission command and control of the Wideband Global SATCO ...

. On 7 July 2022, Colonel David Pheasant, a former Army officer who had once commanded the 53rd Signal Battalion, took command of DEL 8, becoming the first inter-service transfer officer to command a Space Force Delta.

Structure

DEL 8 comprises five squadrons, two of which have non-Air Force lineages (10 SOPS Navy; 53 SOPS Army):

List of commanders

References

External links

Space Delta 8 Fact Sheet
{{United States Space Force Deltas of the United States Space Force

History

Structure

List of commanders

See also

References

External links