Space Regulatory Glossary Agencies

U.S. Space Force

/speɪs fɔːrs/ noun

1. The space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, established in December 2019 as part of the Department of the Air Force. Responsible for organizing, training, and equipping space forces to protect U.S. and allied interests in space.
2. The Space Force's 18th Space Defense Squadron operates the Space Surveillance Network and maintains the authoritative catalog of tracked objects in orbit, publishing orbital data through Space-Track.org. This tracking infrastructure underpins conjunction assessment and space situational awareness for both military and commercial operators.

Related terms

space situational awareness The knowledge and characterization of the space environment, including the location, trajectory, and status of natural… TLE Two-Line Element set. A standardized data format for describing a satellite's orbital elements at a specific epoch,… conjunction assessment The process of predicting and evaluating potential close approaches between objects in orbit. space traffic management The set of regulatory, technical, and operational measures for safely coordinating the movement of objects in space —…

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