EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- In the five years since Space Systems Command (SSC) was officially established as a U.S. Space Force (USSF) field command, the organization has grown exponentially to meet the challenges of defending an increasingly contested, congested and competitive space domain.
“To field combat-credible systems ahead of rapidly evolving pacing threats, USSF and SSC have aggressively overhauled legacy acquisition frameworks,” said USSF Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of SSC. “Today, space acquisitions are shifting toward rapid prototyping, agile software integration, commercial leverage, and integrated operations. SSC has embraced specialized pathways to bypass red tape, foster rapid deliveries, and cut decision timelines.”
SSC’s history dates back to July 1954, when it was the U.S. Air Force’s Western Development Division, tasked with developing the United States’ first intercontinental ballistic missile. It was later renamed Space and Missile Systems Center and, with the formation of the U.S. Space Force in 2019, became Space Systems Command on Aug. 13, 2021.
Becoming a field command of America’s newest military service required more than just a name change: it required an evolution in every facet of its operation, from how it was organized to how space acquisitions are conducted.
Among the command’s many accomplishments, five in particular stand out:
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Completion of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The USSF’s primary global missile warning and surveillance network, a constellation of six primary Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites and several Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) sensors. The final satellite in the constellation was operationally accepted in 2023.
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Development of Phase 2 and 3 of the National Security Space Launch program, which included Lane 1, for commercial-like higher-risk or non-critical payloads, and Lane 2 for the most demanding, least risk-tolerant missions.
“The emphasis on commercial-first acquisitions and the stand-up of Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE) who own missions and not sets of programs strengthens our thesis,” said USSF Col. Tim Trimailo, director of SSC’s COMSO. “Focusing on missions rather than isolated legacy programs encourages us to pursue the most effective solutions, whether traditional or commercial. If you own missions, then you open the aperture and you’re incentivized to go after commercial capability in addition to executing programs.”
SSC’s transformation also has extended to its people. The command now conducts professional development initiatives for its Senior Enlisted Leaders (SELs) and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs), including the command-wide SNCO Leadership Xchange program designed to sharpen leadership, enhance decision-making skills and collaborative problem-solving.
“As of August 2026, SSC’s government workforce is close to 7,000 strong, including: more than 1,200 military officers; 2,200 enlisted; and 3,500 civilians,” said Sam Look, director of SSC Human Capital. “We also have more than 4,600 support contractors enabling our mission. In this current calendar year, we are projecting to onboard approximately 600 new civilians and in FY27 we plan to add close to 250 new positions which include officers, enlisted, and more than 200 civilians.”
SSC’s hiring commitment extends to increasing employment of military spouses by 30 percent and reducing the amount of time it takes to hire them by 25 percent.
“We are in an exciting hiring surge period to ensure we have the right personnel in place when we receive the Department of War’s budget for future space capability acquisitions,” Look added. “It is our people who have driven our success throughout the past five years – and it is our people who will ensure our continued success into the future.”
SBIRS
Missile warning is the “unblinking eye” essential to the defense and security of the U.S. and its allied partners. A crucial part of the “no fail” National Command, Control, and Communication (NC3) mission is the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), a constellation of six primary Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites and several Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) sensors.
"The SBIRS constellation represents years of relentless innovation and hard work delivering vital capability to the warfighter,” said Col. Stevie Medeiros, commander of SSC’s System Delta 84. “As the threat landscape evolves, we’re leveraging this foundation to further develop a resilient, multi-layered missile warning and tracking architecture of advanced space and ground systems to enhance persistent, around-the-clock global sensing,”
SBIRS augments the legacy Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites. The sixth and final SBIRS satellite became operational in 2023.
The SBIRS constellation provides persistent infrared surveillance to support missile warning and tracking, missile defense, battlespace awareness and technical sensing. But SBIRS isn’t the end of the story: SSC’s Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (NGG) system is in development and will augment the SBIRS constellation.
NGG’s advanced spacecraft and sensors are designed to detect emerging threats including faster and dimmer missiles with 3x capabilities for warfighters. Resilient by design, each satellite incorporates capabilities that address counter-space threats in a contested environment. The first NGG vehicle (NGG-1) was built in less than half the time as SBIRS GEO-1. It is complete and available for launch as of January 2026; taking just over seven years to finish after authority to proceed (ATP) in 2018.
GPS III Series
The Space Force is perhaps best known for its role in providing the gold standard in positioning, navigation and timing data through its Global Positioning System satellites, which now number 32. The last satellite in the series, GPS III-8, nicknamed “Hedy Lamarr” after the actress and inventor who developed frequency-hopping technology, completed in April 2026 what is now the strongest and most resilient constellation.
“The completion of the GPS III series is a landmark achievement for the Space Systems Command team and our partners at Combat Forces Command,” said Erin Carper, acting program executive officer for Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing. “GPS III modernized the foundation of global PNT and strengthened the GPS constellation’s accuracy and performance, benefitting both the military and billions of civilian users.”
The next generation of GPS satellites, GPS III Follow-on (GPS IIIF), is expected to begin launching no earlier than 2028. These satellites will feature up to Regional Military Protection providing more than 60 times greater anti-jamming protection than legacy systems for contested environments. The LM2100 Combat Bus incorporates the Augmentation System Port Interface (ASPIN) for future on-orbit servicing and upgrades.
GPS IIIF satellites, the next generation of U.S. Space Force positioning, navigation, and timing spacecraft, featuring advanced anti-jamming, fully digital navigation payloads, are also expected to begin launching no earlier than 2028.
Establishment of the Eight System Deltas
In 2023, SSC stood up two System Delta “pathfinders”: one for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and one for electronic warfare. The System Deltas were aligned with Mission Deltas within Combat Forces Command (CFC), USSF’s operational field command.
System Deltas were created with the goal of closing the divide between SSC acquisitions and CFC operations. Each SYD coordinates directly with operations and sustainment counterparts across Combat Forces Command, STARCOM, and Space Force component commands.
SSC’s eight System Deltas support SSC’s Portfolio Acquisition Executives and include:
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SYD 80 (Space Access) - manages launch, range, and logistics systems.
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SYD 81 (Infrastructure) - provides simulations for training and testing.
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SYD 810 (Space-Based Sensing & Targeting) - delivers environmental and weather surveillance data.
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SYD 84 (Space-Based Missile Warning & Tracking) - focuses on tracking systems and ground capabilities.
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SYD 88 (Satellite Communications) - develops satellites and software for communication superiority.
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SYD 831 (Navigation Warfare & PNT) - advances GPS accuracy and protects against threats.
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SYD 89 (Space Combat Power) - detects and tracks threats to space architectures.
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SYD 85 (Battle Management, C3, & Space Intelligence) - supports space defense and networked operations.
“We’ve initiated a new approach by placing our space operators and acquisition professionals side-by-side,” said USSF Col. Andrew Menschner, deputy commander of SSC. “To bridge the operational gap, SSC’s System Deltas now collaborate closely with Combat Forces Command Mission Delta operators. This framework replaces the old handoff model, directly pairing warfighters with developers to accelerate system upgrades and deliver capabilities much faster.”
COMSO and Space Force Front Door
“COMSO’s role is to help integrate commercial capability into the architecture,” Trimailo said. “Simply put, we’re problem solvers. The threat is advancing at a growing rate, which drives the urgency. The pace of commercial innovation is at an all-time high, which creates the opportunity. Our job is to harness that innovation to field war-winning capability as quickly as possible to counter the threat. In this way, we are a resource to every mission owner and every Portfolio Acquisition Executive charged to deliver capacity.”
“The actions that create the demands for COMSO vary greatly day-to-day,” Trimailo added. “Some days it’s market research and tech scouting through the USSF Front Door to help programs understand the tech that’s out there, and providing feedback to companies so they can make their tech more useful to government missions. Other days we’re connecting start-ups with opportunities to mature their tech. That includes non-dilutive Small Business Innovated Research (SBIRS) projects, commercial solutions openings (CSOs), Other Transaction Authority (OTA) solicicitations or other SSC and non-SSC government options.”
When a company’s technology is proven, trusted and fielded, COMSO’s discussion may focus on how that company might contribute in a future crisis or conflict and perhaps include developing a program for them as part of Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR). Through COMSO, SSC offers a range of services and resources designed to help the USSF gain better access to commercial innovators and vice versa.
“Before the Space Force Front Door, commercial innovators faced a labyrinth—there was no single, clear entry point to pitch groundbreaking tech to the service, and mission owners often didn't know what commercial capabilities already existed,” explained Vic Vigliotti, director, USSF Front Door. “We changed the game by creating a unified, accessible portal. We've built the bridge and now we’re focused on scaling it. While our current scouting and matching capabilities are already delivering wins, our future roadmap will make integrating commercial space tech faster and more seamless than ever before.”
National Security Space Launch, Phases and Lanes
In 2020, SSC awarded Phase 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL), designed to maximize the advantage of the growing commercial space market and private investment in launch vehicles with a "firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery" launch contract. In 2025, SSC Space Access awarded contracts for Phase 3, with a two-lane set up: Lane 2 for the vital “can’t fail” missions and Lane 1, to support more risk-tolerant missions designed to provide “on-ramps” for new launch providers, strengthening the space industrial base.
“The NSSL program under Space Systems Command has been wildly successful over the past five years,” said USSF Col. Ryan Hiserote, SSC System Delta 80 commander, NSSL program manager, and GPS III-8 mission director. “We developed and executed two major acquisition strategies, called Phase 2 and Phase 3, and leveraged our innovative contracts to award over $25 billion in launch services for more than 100 missions.”
The program is executing at the speed of need to deliver space capabilities to the warfighter faster than ever before, safely placing more than 100 national security satellites into orbit across 32 dedicated NSSL launches since SSC's stand-up.
“For example, in July we issued multiple launch contracts, from requests for proposal through award, in less than two months,” Hiserote said. “We’ve also executed several payload swaps between launch providers to get critical space capabilities to orbit as soon as possible, launching three of those swaps within two months of contract modification. Finally, we are building launch resiliency and increasing capacity to meet future launch demands by growing our industrial base. We recently on-ramped two new launch providers to the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract, bringing our total to seven launch service providers as industrial partners.”
That ever-increasing launch tempo goes hand-in-hand with SSC’s Spaceport of the Future initiative which is backed by a $1.3 billion infrastructure investment to modernize and expand national launch ranges, including Vandenberg Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral. The initiative plans to transition traditional sites into high-capacity hubs utilizing automation, shared infrastructure and streamlined commercial operations.
“We have driven incredible change in our first five years,” Garrant added. “As a team, we will build on our successes and continue to deliver the space capabilities required by our current and future warfighters.”