The US Space Force, the space service of the US military, stands ready to protect and build superiority in space capabilities, a key component of modern warfare as well as of daily life.

Space capabilities govern nearly all aspects of modern life. Hanging above earth from hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometers away, satellites influence daily events that are simultaneously critical and mundane.

Satellites enable vehicles to navigate. They synchronize clocks across the globe, broadcast television, power the financial sector and let scientists monitor trends including desertification, sea level rise and ice melt through real-time images.

Meanwhile, satellites are critical for military applications, providing capabilities such as secure communication, global positioning, reconnaissance, surveillance and missile warning systems.

The US Space Force was established in 2019 to better protect these systems.

Under its charter, the Space Force is organized, trained and equipped to provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space; conduct space operations; and protect US interests in space.

While the United States has maintained space programming spread across departments and organizations focused on enhancing multiple domain space capabilities since 1947, the creation of a separate US Space Force allows it to consolidate the space forces within the US Air Force, Army and Navy.

The move enables the Space Force to grow a force of military specialists focusing on the evolving technical requirements to advance space superiority alongside allies and partners.

Space Force in the Middle East

The military-to-military and military-to-government reach of the Space Force has elevated the United States as a space partner of choice in the Middle East.

Several US allies in the Middle East have sought American advice on how to build their own space forces, Col. Christopher Putman, commander of US Space Forces Central, told SpaceNews in March 2023.

"We have a lot of nations that see space as the critical combat enabler that it is and can be, and they're coming to us for advice on how to stand up a space force, and what does that look like?" he said.

Such allies have already worked with private partners of the US Space Force, such as SpaceX -- a potential step toward direct partnership with the service.

For example, Egypt, which established the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) in 2018 to build space science and technology capabilities, worked with SpaceX to launch the Nilesat 301 advanced communications satellite in 2022.

EgSA's headquarters also house the operations of the African Union (AU)'s African Space Agency, which promotes the development of space capabilities within Africa and strategy and policy coordination across AU member states.