Air defense space forces. Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Purpose of the Aerospace Forces

The Aerospace Defense Forces (VVKO) solve a wide range of tasks, the main of which are:

• providing senior management levels with reliable information about the detection of ballistic missile launches and warning about a missile attack;
• defeating the warheads of ballistic missiles of a potential enemy attacking important government facilities;
• protection of control points (CP) of the highest echelons of state and military command, groupings of troops (forces), the most important industrial and economic centers and other objects from attacks by enemy aerospace attack weapons (ASCA) within the affected zones;

• surveillance space objects and identifying threats to Russia in and from space, and, if necessary, countering such threats;
• launches spacecraft into orbits, control of military and dual-purpose (military and civil) satellite systems in flight and the use of individual of them in the interests of supporting troops (forces) Russian Federation necessary information;
• maintaining military and dual-use satellite systems, their launch and control means in the established composition and readiness for use.

The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was required to combine the forces and assets responsible for ensuring Russia's security in and from space with military formations responsible for the country's air defense (air defense). This was caused by the objective need to integrate, under a single leadership, all forces and means capable of fighting in the air and space spheres, based on modern world trends in armament and rearmament of leading countries towards expanding the role of aerospace in ensuring the protection of state interests in the economic, military and social spheres.

On December 1, 2011, the Aerospace Defense Forces, in cooperation with the forces and air defense systems of military districts, took up combat duty with the task of protecting the country’s territory from attacks by aerospace attack weapons.

With the commissioning of the VVKO, the Space Forces ceased to exist in Russia. Aerospace defense was created on the basis of the Space Forces, as well as the troops of the operational-strategic command of the aerospace defense.

VVKO facilities are located throughout the Russian Federation - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka - as well as beyond its borders. In neighboring countries - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan - objects of missile attack warning and space control systems are deployed.

IN composition of the Aerospace Defense Forces includes:

• Space Command;
• Air and Missile Defense Command;
• Plesetsk cosmodrome.

The space command includes the forces and means of space control systems, orbital constellation control, as well as missile attack warning systems.

Aerospace defense forces and means

On missile attack warning system (MAWS) assigned the task of receiving and issuing warning information about a missile attack to state and military control points, generating the necessary information for the missile defense system and issuing data on space objects to the space control system.

Currently, the missile attack warning system provides complete control of all missile-hazardous directions.

Missile defense system carries out target detection and destruction of warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with anti-missile missiles, eliminating the detonation of their charges.

Space control system (SSC) is unique. Only two powers can control space - Russia and the USA. The main catalog of the KKP system of the Russian Federation contains information about almost 9 thousand space objects.

Forces and means of the RCMP in cooperation with information means PRN, missile defense systems and others information systems carry out the tasks of monitoring outer space and issuing information about the space situation to control points of state and military leadership. The system determines the characteristics and purpose of all spacecraft, as well as the composition of orbital constellations of space systems of Russia and foreign countries with their recognition.

The aerospace defense troops are equipped with launch vehicles, command and measurement systems, radar stations, and optical-electronic systems.

Conclusions

1. Aerospace Defense Forces - new kind troops included in Armed forces Russian Federation.
2. Aerospace defense troops ensure control of outer space.
3. The main tasks of the Aerospace Defense Forces include the destruction of enemy ballistic missiles attacking facilities and troops in defended areas.
4. Aerospace defense troops perform reconnaissance functions, collecting necessary information for our country's missile defense.

Questions

1. What is the main purpose of the Aerospace Defense Forces?
2. Which cosmodromes of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation can you name?
3. What are the tasks of the Aerospace Defense Forces?
4. Why is control of outer space using the forces and means of the Aerospace Defense Forces so important for the Russian Federation? Justify your answer.

Quests

1. Prepare a report on the forces and means of the country's missile and space defense.
2. Using special literature, prepare a report about the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

Editor's response

On October 4, Russia celebrates Space Forces Day. The holiday is timed to coincide with the launch day of the first artificial satellite Earth PS-1 (Simple satellite-1). It was launched into orbit on October 4, 1957 by an R-7 launch vehicle from the 5th research site of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which later became known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was a ball with a diameter of 58 centimeters, weighed 83.6 kilograms, and was equipped with four whip antennas 2.4 and 2.9 meters long. The successful launch of the world's first satellite became a revelation in the annals of astronautics, including military ones.

Emblem of the Aerospace Defense Forces. Photo: ommons.wikimedia.org

About what they do space force, their composition and history of origin is told by AiF.ru.

Tasks

Space Forces are a branch of the military within the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation. Their main tasks are:

• a warning to the country's top military-political leadership about a missile attack;
• missile defense of the city of Moscow;
• control of outer space;
• creation, deployment, maintenance of the domestic orbital constellation and control of spacecraft for military, dual, socio-economic and scientific purposes.

Composition of the space forces:

• Space Forces Command;
• Main center missile attack warnings;
• Main center for space reconnaissance;
• Directorate for the Introduction of New Systems and Complexes of the Space Forces;
• Missile defense formations;
• Main Test Center named after German Titov;
• State test cosmodrome Plesetsk.

Number personnel Russian Aerospace Defense Forces - 165,000 people.

Orbital constellation

As of September 2015, the Russian orbital satellite constellation is the second in the world and consists of 149 devices. Together with the orbital constellations of the CIS countries - 167 devices.

For comparison, the largest orbital constellation is owned by the United States, which owns 446 artificial satellites. In third place is China with 120+ satellites. India maintains 40+ operational Earth imaging satellites in polar orbits.

Pilots during an exercise to test the combat readiness of the Aerospace Defense Forces, the 1st Air Force and Air Defense Command of the Western Military District at the Baltimore airfield in Voronezh. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Utkin

Names

• Central Administration space assets (TSUKOS) of the Missile Forces strategic purpose(Strategic Missile Forces) (1964-1970),
• Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) (1970-1981),
• Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (1981-1986),
• Office of the Chief of Space Facilities (UNKS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense (1986-1992),
• Military Space Forces (VKS) (1992-1997),
• as part of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) (1997-2001),
• Space Forces (SF) (2001-2011),
• Aerospace Defense Forces (VVKO) (from December 1, 2011 - August 1, 2015),
• Space Forces (HF) of the Aerospace Forces (since August 1, 2015).

Major General, Commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO) Alexander Golovko. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Klimentyev

Commanders

1964-1965 — K.A.-A. Kerimov
1965-1979 — A. G. Karas
1979-1989 — A. A. Maksimov
1989-1996 — V. L. Ivanov
2001-2004 — A. N. Perminov
2004-2008 — V. A. Popovkin
2008-2011 — O. N. Ostapenko
2012 — V. M. Ivanov- acting temporarily
from December 2012 — A. V. Golovko

Educational institutions

The training of officers for the space forces is carried out by:

• Military Space Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky,
• Military Academy Aerospace Defense named after Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukova.

Story

The first space units were formed in 1955 as part of the artillery of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK), when by decree of the USSR Government it was decided to build a research site.

In 1964, to centralize work on the creation of new assets, as well as to quickly resolve issues of using space assets, the Central Directorate of Space Assets (TSUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) was created. In 1970, it was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces.

In 1986, GUKOS was transformed into the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Military personnel of the Aerospace Defense Forces greet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the parade dedicated to the 68th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War on Red Square. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Ostapkovich

In 1992, the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities was transformed into a branch of centrally subordinate forces - the Military Space Forces (VKS).

In 1997, the Military Space Forces, in order to increase the efficiency of command and control and save the defense budget, were included in the Strategic Missile Forces.

In connection with the increasing role of space assets in the system of military and national security of Russia, a presidential decree in 2001 created an independent branch of the force - the Space Forces - on the basis of formations, formations and launch and missile launch units allocated from the Strategic Missile Forces. At the same time, it was taken into account that space forces and means, forces and means of the RKO have a single sphere for solving problems - space, as well as close cooperation between industrial enterprises, ensuring the creation and development of weapons.

The Russian Federation is a relatively young type of military. VKS appeared the year before last. This happened when the Air Force and Space Forces merged into a single whole as a result of reform. The new branch of the military came into force on the first day of August 2015, in connection with the corresponding decree of the commander-in-chief.

Tasks of the Aerospace Forces

The new branch of the military was commissioned to solve many problems, including:

Composition of the Aerospace Forces

The VKS consists of three types of troops:

• Russian Federation Air Force;
• Anti-aircraft and anti-missile forces;
• Space Forces.

Nine educational institutions in the country are training specialists to replenish the officers of the Aerospace Forces. The main command of the new type of troops is based in the capital of Russia, in the Arbat area. The professional holiday for employees in the Aerospace Forces is considered to be the former Russian Air Force Day - August 12.

Colonel General Bondarev was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, to whom the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the country, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, presented the battle flag of the new type of troops.

Representative of the Russian Aerospace Forces at cultural events is a vocal and choreographic ensemble of VKS. The main cultural center of the Russian Aerospace Forces is the Central Club of Aerospace Forces Officers, located in Moscow.

Prerequisites for the emergence of a new type of troops

The need to reform the Air Force was discussed at the end of the last decade of the 20th century. Why did such a need arise? This need was dictated by the fact that by that time the operational life of most military equipment, which was in service with this type of troops has expired. The technical arsenal was significantly worn out, which undermined the combat effectiveness of the Air Force. As a result of the reforms carried out, some of the obsolete equipment was written off, which made it possible to reduce personnel. The number of airfields serving as military bases was also reduced. Changes have occurred in the field of specialized education.

These changes were manifested in the concentration of educational institutions involved in training personnel for service in the Air Force. By the beginning of 2012, the Russian Air Force acquired a new, more compact appearance. The reduction in the number of personnel and military equipment occurred against the backdrop of an increase in government spending on the maintenance of these troops. The result of the reform measures was an increase in the salaries of employees and a more intensive pace of renewal of military equipment. However, not all measures taken were effective.

Second wave of reforms

After Sergei Shoigu headed the Ministry of Defense, a new set of measures was implemented to return the Air Force to its former power.

Among the events carried out were:

The modernization of the aviation fleet is also of great importance for maintaining the combat potential of the Aerospace Forces. By 2020, more than half of the equipment in the arsenal of the Aerospace Forces must undergo repairs and undergo technical improvements.

Results of the transformations

The creation of the Russian Aerospace Forces was the optimal solution to the problem further development aviation defense of the Russian Federation. As a result of the unification of several branches of the military and the creation of the Aerospace Forces, the command of these troops was concentrated in one hand, which increased its effectiveness. There has been a tendency to increase quantitative and qualitative indicators in the development of the country's Aerospace Forces. But that's not all. The effectiveness of the participation of aviation and space forces in the defense sector has increased.

Baptism of fire

First military operation The Aerospace Forces were involved in the armed conflict in Syria. This military company received high praise from the commander-in-chief. By the end of last year, most of the Aerospace Forces personnel were involved in the operation. Many pilots were awarded high government awards from the Russian Federation and Syria. The actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria were awarded high marks leading analysts in the world. In March last year, some military equipment was withdrawn from the deployment area due to the fact that the mission was completely completed.

The face of aviation

At many cultural events, as well as during demonstrations of the flight program of air shows, the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation are usually represented by the Swifts and Russian Knights aerobatic teams. Their masterful control of aircraft is admired by many people who make up the audience for such events. These aerobatic teams also participate in campaigns to attract people to contract service and to attract young people to serve in the Aerospace Forces. According to surveys, many young people are entering higher aerospace educational institutions and flight schools, inspired by the example of pilots who are part of aerobatic teams.

Exhibition of achievements

For more than 20 years, one of the main events demonstrating the level of development of the country's aerospace complex has been the MAKS air show.

This exhibition usually hosts air shows, which can be viewed by MAKS participants during the first three days and everyone interested in the following days. The aerobatics demonstrated by Russian pilots during demonstration flights are clear evidence of the highest professional level representatives of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation.

The President of Russia has repeatedly emphasized great value Aerospace Forces in the defense of our country and in space exploration. In the history of the aviation and space forces of our state, there have been many significant milestones that the citizens of the country can be proud of.

In accordance with the decision of the President of the Russian Federation, from December 1, 2011, a new branch of the military was created in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Aerospace Defense Forces (VVKO).

Aerospace Defense Forces are formed on the basis of formations and military units Space Forces, as well as troops of the operational strategic command of the aerospace defense of the Air Force.

The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was dictated by the objective need to combine the forces and means responsible for ensuring the security of Russia in space and from space, with military formations responsible for the air defense (air defense) of the country, in order to create unified system aerospace defense.

The first units and institutions for launching and controlling spacecraft (SV) began to be created in our country in 1955 with the decision to build a test site for intercontinental ballistic missiles in Kazakhstan (now the Baikonur Cosmodrome).

In connection with preparations for the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957, a Command and Measurement Complex for spacecraft control was created. In the same year, construction began in the Arkhangelsk region of a test site intended for launches of R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles (now the Plesetsk cosmodrome).
On October 4, 1957, the spacecraft launch and control units carried out the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite “PS-1”, and on April 12, 1961 - the launch and control of the flight of the world’s first manned spaceship"Vostok" with cosmonaut Yu.A. Gagarin. Subsequently, all domestic and international space programs were carried out with the participation of associations, formations and units of spacecraft launch and control.

To organize the management of space activities in 1960, the 3rd Directorate of the Main Directorate of Missile Weapons was formed in the USSR Ministry of Defense, which in 1964 was transformed into the Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the Ministry of Defense, and in 1970 - into the Main Directorate Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1982, GUKOS and the units subordinate to it were withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces and subordinated directly to the USSR Minister of Defense - the Directorate of the Chief of Space Facilities of the Ministry of Defense was created.

In August 1992, the Military Space Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation were created, which included the Baikonur, Plesetsk cosmodromes and, since 1994, the Svobodny cosmodrome, as well as the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Facilities (GITSIU KS), the Military Engineering Space Academy and 50th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Since 1957, spacecraft launch and control units and institutions have provided the launch and flight control of more than 3,000 spacecraft, carry out tasks to ensure national security in the space sector, and take part in the implementation of all joint international manned projects and projects basic research deep space. In close cooperation with a wide cooperation of scientific and industrial organizations, flight tests of more than 250 types of spacecraft for military, socio-economic and scientific purposes were carried out.

Manned flights, exploration of the Moon, Mars, Venus, complex experiments in outer space, launch of an unmanned spacecraft of the reusable orbital complex "Buran", creation of an international space station- is not a complete list of the achievements of domestic cosmonautics, a significant contribution to which was made by military formations for space purposes.

At the same time, the combat path of “space in uniform” was not limited to launches and control of spacecraft. With the beginning of the era of space exploration, the need arose to monitor the launches of potential enemy missiles and space objects, control their movement, assess their condition, and warn about possible emergency situations in space. There was a threat of the enemy using weapons from space. Therefore, in the early 1960s. The first samples of missile attack warning systems (MAW), space control systems (SSC), and missile defense systems (ABM) began to be created.

The most productive period in the history of domestic military space activity was the period of the 1970s–1980s, when scientific, technical and production groundwork was laid in rocket and space technology for decades to come, which is still being implemented today. Space warning, reconnaissance, communications, and navigation systems were created and put into service. The orbital group became permanently operational and began to be actively used in the interests of solving problems and ensuring the daily activities of the Armed Forces. PRN and missile defense systems were put on combat duty.

All these and many other domestic and international space programs have been carried out for more than 50 years with the direct participation of military units for launching and controlling spacecraft and military formations of missile and space defense (RKO), on the basis of which the Space Forces were created in 2001. At the same time, it was taken into account that space forces and means, forces and means of the RKO have a single sphere of problem solving - space, as well as close cooperation of industrial enterprises, ensuring the creation and development of weapons.

Over the 10-year period of active activity, the Space Forces conducted and ensured more than 230 launches of launch vehicles, which launched into orbit more than 300 spacecraft for military, dual, socio-economic and scientific purposes. Among them are communications, navigation, cartography, remote sensing, telecommunications, scientific apparatus, etc.

Space control equipment provided warnings of more than 900 dangerous approaches of space objects to the international space station.

The duty forces of the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Spacecraft named after G.S. Titov conducted about 2.5 million sessions of spacecraft control.

The inclusion of air defense forces and means into the Aerospace Defense Forces, dating back to the period of the First World War, when, to cover the most important centers of the country, the to create air defense for the capital of Russia - Petrograd and its environs. Even then, it included anti-aircraft artillery batteries, air crews, and a network of air surveillance posts.
The organizational structure of the air defense forces (since 1928 - air defense) developed with the development military aviation. Since 1924, the formation of anti-aircraft artillery regiments began for air defense.

On May 10, 1932, the Red Army Air Defense Directorate was created. Separate brigades, divisions, and air defense corps have been formed. On November 9, 1941, the air defense forces of the country acquired the status of an independent branch of the military. In January 1942, air defense aviation was organized within them. The branches of air defense troops, in addition to fighter aircraft, were anti-aircraft artillery and air surveillance, warning and communications troops.

During the Great Patriotic War The Air Force and Air Defense Forces included operational-strategic formations: air armies, fronts and air defense armies. During the war years, the Air Defense Forces in air battles More than 64 thousand enemy aircraft were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire and at airfields.

Currently, air defense formations and military units are units of constant combat readiness. They include anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering units. They are designed to protect command posts of the highest echelons of state and military command, groupings of troops (forces), the most important industrial and economic centers and other objects from attacks by enemy aerospace attacks within the affected zones.

Radio technical equipment and complexes of automation equipment for radar complexes and stations of medium, high and low altitudes are intended for conducting radar reconnaissance of enemy air and issuing radar information about the air situation within the radar field to higher command and control bodies and other branches of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces, to combat control points means of aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces and electronic warfare when they solve problems in peacetime and wartime.

Currently, the air defense forces are armed with anti-aircraft missile systems and systems, which constitute the main firepower in the air defense (aerospace) defense system. Modern Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, S-400, and the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system are capable of destroying various air targets, including hitting ballistic missile warheads.

Air defense brigade personnel are on combat duty around the clock to protect the airspace over the capital region and the Central Industrial Region of the country. About 140 objects public administration, industry and energy, transport communications, nuclear power plants are under the protection of the forces and means of anti-aircraft missile and radio technical units of the air defense forces.

The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was caused by the objective need to integrate, under unified leadership, all forces and assets capable of fighting in the aerospace sphere, based on modern global trends towards expanding the role of aerospace in ensuring the protection of vital state interests in the economic, military and social spheres.

On December 1, 2011, formations and military units of the Space Forces, together with military formations of the operational strategic command of the East Kazakhstan region, became part of a new branch of the military - the Aerospace Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Today, the Aerospace Defense Forces are a modern, dynamically developing, high-tech branch of the military that ensures the defense and security of the state in aerospace.

The objects of the Aerospace Defense Forces are located throughout Russia - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, as well as beyond its borders. Facilities of missile attack warning and space control systems are deployed in neighboring countries - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

On December 1, 2011, the Aerospace Defense Forces, in cooperation with the air defense forces and means of the military districts, took up combat duty with the task of protecting the country’s territory from attacks by aerospace attack weapons.

Space Force

From the history of creation

Space Force The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were created in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 24, 2001.

The first military formations for space purposes were formed in 1955, when by decree of the USSR government it was decided to build a research site, which later became the world-famous Baikonur Cosmodrome.

In 1957, in connection with preparations for the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, the Command and Measurement Complex for Spacecraft Control was created (now the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Spacecraft named after G.S. Titov, GITSIU KS). In the same year, in the city of Mirny, Arkhangelsk region, construction began on a test site intended for launching R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles - the current Plesetsk cosmodrome.

On October 4, 1957, the launch and control units of spacecraft carried out the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite "PS-1", and on April 12, 1961 - the launch and control of the flight of the world's first manned spacecraft "Vostok" with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board. Subsequently, all domestic and international space programs were carried out with the direct participation of military units in launching and controlling spacecraft.

In 1964, to centralize work on the creation of new assets, as well as to quickly resolve issues of using space assets, the Central Directorate of Space Assets (TSUKOS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense was created. In 1970, TsUKOS was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Ministry of Defense. In 1982, GUKOS and the units subordinate to it were withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) and subordinated directly to the Minister of Defense.

In 1992, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 27, 1992, the Military Space Forces (VKS) of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation were created, which included the Baikonur Cosmodrome, spacecraft launch units of the Plesetsk test site, and the Main Test Center for testing and control of space assets. Colonel General Vladimir Ivanov was appointed the first commander of the Aerospace Forces.

In 1997, according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 16, “in accordance with the needs of defense and security, as well as the real economic capabilities of the country,” the Russian Aerospace Forces merged with the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) and the Missile and Space Defense Forces (RKO) of the Air Defense Forces.

In 2001, in connection with the increasing role of space assets in the military and national security system of Russia, the country's top political leadership decided to create a new type of military force on the basis of formations, formations and units for launching and controlling spacecraft, as well as RKO troops, allocated from the Strategic Missile Forces. Space Forces. On March 26, 2002, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation presented a personal standard to the commander of the Space Forces.

On October 3, 2002, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Space Forces Day was introduced, celebrated annually on October 4.

The Russian Space Forces are designed to solve the following tasks:
• detection of the beginning of a missile attack on the Russian Federation and its allies;
• combating enemy ballistic missiles attacking the defended area;
• maintaining the established composition of orbital constellations of military and dual-use spacecraft and ensuring their use for their intended purpose;
• control over outer space;
• ensuring the implementation of the Russian Federal Space Program, international cooperation programs and commercial space programs.

The Space Forces included:
• Rocket and Space Defense Association (RKO)
• State test cosmodromes of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Baikonur, Plesetsk and Svobodny
• Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Spacecraft named after G.S. Titov
• department for depositing cash settlement services
• military educational institutions and support units.

  The RKO association includes missile attack warning (MAW), missile defense and space control (SSC) units. It is armed with radar, radio engineering, optical-electronic, and optical means, which are controlled from one center and operate according to a single plan in real time using a single information field.

  Management of orbital constellations of spacecraft is carried out by the Main Test Center named after. G.S. Titova. The state test cosmodromes Plesetsk, Svobodny and Baikonur are intended to create, maintain and replenish the domestic orbital constellation of spacecraft.

  Space Forces facilities are located throughout Russia and beyond its borders. Abroad, they are deployed in Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.

  As of the end of 2007, the Russian orbital constellation consisted of 100 spacecraft. Of these, 40 are defense satellites, 21 are dual-use (capable of simultaneously addressing military, socio-economic and scientific problems) and 39 spacecraft for scientific and socio-economic purposes. Since 2004, it has increased one and a half times.

  The Space Forces are armed with satellites for specific reconnaissance (optical-electronic and radar reconnaissance), radio-electronic control (radio and radio-technical reconnaissance), communications (Cosmos, Globus and Rainbow series) and a global satellite navigation system for troops ( "Hurricane" series). The launch of satellites into a given orbit is provided by light (Start-1, Kosmos-3M, Cyclone-2, Cyclone-3), medium-sized (Soyuz-U, Soyuz-2, "Zenit") and heavy ("Proton-K", "Proton-M") classes.

  The main cosmodrome for launching military and dual-use spacecraft is the Plesetsk cosmodrome. It is based on technical and launch complexes for space rockets "Molniya-M", "Soyuz-U", "Soyuz-2", "Cyclone-3", "Cosmos-3M", "Rokot".

  The space forces use the ground-based automated spacecraft control complex (NAKU KA): command and measurement systems "Taman-Baza", "Fazan", radar "Kama", quantum-optical system "Sazhen-T", ground-based receiving and recording station " Nauka M-04", radar stations "DON-2N", "Dnepr", "Daryal", "Volga", radio-optical complex for recognition of space objects "KRONA", optical-electronic complex "OKNO".

  The structure of the Space Forces includes military educational institutions: Military Space Academy (VKA) named after. A.F. Mozhaisky (St. Petersburg), Pushkin Military Institute of Radio Electronics of the Space Forces named after. Air Marshal E.Ya. Savitsky (Pushkin), Moscow Military Institute of Radio Electronics of the Space Forces (Kubinka), Peter the Great Military Space Institute cadet corps(St. Petersburg).

  From July 4, 2008 to December 1, 2011, the commander of the Space Forces is Major General Oleg Nikolaevich Ostapenko.

  With the formation of the Aerospace Defense Forces in Russia, the Space Forces ceased to exist. The aerospace defense forces were formed on the basis of the Space Forces and the troops of the operational-strategic command of the aerospace defense.

  The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was required to combine the forces and assets responsible for ensuring the security of Russia in and from space with military formations problem solvers air defense (air defense) of the Russian Federation. This was caused by the objective need to integrate, under a single leadership, all forces and means capable of fighting in the air and space spheres, based on modern world trends in armament and rearmament of leading countries towards expanding the role of aerospace in ensuring the protection of state interests in the economic, military and social spheres.

  Aerospace Defense Forces facilities are located throughout Russia - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, as well as beyond its borders. Missile attack warning and space control systems are deployed in neighboring countries - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

  Commanders of the Aerospace Defense Forces:
  • From December 1, 2011 to November 9, 2012 - Colonel General Oleg Nikolaevich Ostapenko.
  • Since November 9, 2012, acting lieutenant general Valery Mikhailovich Ivanov.
  • Since December 24, 2012 - Major General Alexander Valentinovich Golovko.

  Organizational structure of the aerospace defense forces

  • Aerospace Defense Forces
  • Command of the Aerospace Defense Forces
  • Space Command (SC):
    • Main Test Space Center named after. G.S. Titova
  • Air and Missile Defense Command (Air Defense and Missile Defense):
    • Air Defense Brigades
    • Missile Defense Joint
  • State Test Cosmodrome "Plesetsk" (GIC "Plesetsk")
    • Separate scientific research station (Kura test site)
  • Arsenal

  Aerospace Defense Troops (VVKO)- a separate branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, created by decision of President Dmitry Medvedev. The first duty shift of the command post of the Aerospace Defense Forces took up combat duty on December 1, 2011.

  These troops include:
  • Main Missile Attack Warning Center (Missile Attack Warning System);
  • Main center for space reconnaissance (Space Control Center);
  • Main Test Space Center named after German Titov;
  • Air and Missile Defense Command (Air Defense and Missile Defense) (Operational-Strategic Aerospace Defense Command), comprising air defense brigades ( former troops operational-strategic aerospace defense command and command special purpose Moscow Air Defense District) and missile defense formations;
  • State Test Cosmodrome Plesetsk (1st State Test Cosmodrome), including a separate scientific research station(testing ground "Kura"). Kura Missile Range - test site of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces;
  • Arsenal (a military institution for storing, repairing and assembling, accounting, issuing weapons and ammunition to troops, as well as for carrying out work on their assembly, repair and production of some parts for them).

  Main missile attack warning center
  (Missile Warning System)

  Missile attack warning system (MAWS)- a special comprehensive system for warning the leadership of a state about the enemy’s use of missile weapons against the state and repelling its surprise attack.

  Designed to detect a missile attack before the missiles reach their targets. It consists of two echelons - ground-based radars and an orbital constellation of early warning system satellites.
  

  History of creation
  

  The development and adoption of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the late 1950s led to the need to create means of detecting the launches of such missiles in order to eliminate the possibility of a surprise attack.

  The Soviet Union began building a missile attack warning system in the early 1960s. The first early warning radar stations were deployed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their main task was to provide information about a missile attack for missile defense systems, and not to ensure the possibility of a retaliatory strike. The first radars detected missiles after they appeared from behind the local horizon or, using the reflections of radio waves from the ionosphere, “looked” beyond the horizon. But, in any case, the maximum achievable power of such stations and the imperfection of technical means for processing the received information limited the detection range to two to three thousand kilometers, which corresponded to a warning time of 10 - 15 minutes before arrival to the territory of the USSR.

  In 1960, in the USA, the AN/FPS-49 radar (developed by D.C. Barton) for a missile attack warning system was adopted into service in Alaska and Great Britain (replaced only after 40 years of service with newer radars).

  In 1972, the USSR developed the concept of an integrated missile attack warning system. It included ground-based above-the-horizon and over-the-horizon radar stations and space assets and was capable of ensuring the implementation of a retaliatory strike. To detect ICBM launches while they are passing through the active part of the trajectory, which would provide maximum warning time, it was planned to use early warning satellites and over-the-horizon radars. Detection of missile warheads in later sections of the ballistic trajectory was provided using a system of over-the-horizon radars. This separation significantly increases the reliability of the system and reduces the likelihood of errors, since different physical principles are used to detect a missile attack: registration infrared radiation the running engine of a launching ICBM using satellite sensors and recording the reflected radio signal using radar.

  USSR missile attack warning system

  Missile attack warning radar

  Work on the creation of a long-range detection radar began after the 1954 decision of the USSR Government to develop proposals for the creation of a missile defense system for Moscow. Its most important elements were to be the radar for detecting and determining with high accuracy the coordinates of enemy missiles and warheads at a distance of several thousand kilometers. In 1956, by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On Missile Defense” A.L. Mints was appointed one of the chief designers of the DO radar, and in the same year, research began in Kazakhstan on the reflective parameters of ballistic missile warheads launched from the Kapustin Yar test site.

  The construction of the first early warning radars was carried out in 1963 - 1969. These were two radars of the Dnestr-M type, located in Olenegorsk (Kola Peninsula) and Skrunda (Latvia). In August 1970 the system was put into service. It was designed to detect ballistic missiles launched from the territory of the United States or from the waters of the Norwegian and North Seas. The main task of the system at this stage was to provide information about a missile attack for the missile defense system deployed around Moscow.

  In 1967 - 1968, simultaneously with the construction of radars in Olenegorsk and Skrunda, the construction of four Dnepr-type radars (a modernized version of the Dnestr-M radar) began. Nodes were selected for construction in Balkhash-9 (Kazakhstan), Mishelevka (near Irkutsk), and Sevastopol. Another one was built at the site in Skrunda, in addition to the Dnestr-M radar already operating there. These stations were supposed to provide a wider coverage area of ​​the warning system, expanding it to the North Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

  At the beginning of 1971, a command post for a missile attack warning system was created on the basis of the early warning command post in Solnechnogorsk. On February 15, 1971, by order of the USSR Minister of Defense, a separate anti-missile surveillance division began combat duty.

  The concept of a missile attack warning system developed in 1972 provided for integration with existing and newly created missile defense systems. As part of this program, the Danube-3 (Kubinka) and Danube-3U (Chekhov) radars of the Moscow missile defense system were included in the warning system. In addition to the completion of the construction of the Dnepr radar in Balkhash, Mishelevka, Sevastopol and Skrunda, it was planned to create a new radar of this type at a new node in Mukachevo (Ukraine). Thus, the Dnepr radar should have become the basis new system missile attack warnings. The first stage of this system, which included radars at the nodes in Olenegorsk, Skrunda, Balkhash-9 and Mishelevka, began combat duty on October 29, 1976. The second stage, which included radars at the nodes in Sevastopol and Mukachevo, was put on combat duty January 16, 1979.

  In the early 70s of the last century, new types of threats appeared - ballistic missiles with multiple and actively maneuvering warheads, as well as strategic cruise missiles that use passive (false targets, radar decoys) and active (jamming) countermeasures. Their detection was also made difficult by the introduction of radar signature reduction systems (Stealth technology). To meet the new conditions, in 1971 - 1972, a project for a new early warning radar of the Daryal type was developed. In 1984, a station of this type was handed over to the state commission and entered combat duty in Pechora, Komi Republic. A similar station was built in 1987 in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
  

  Space echelon early warning system
  

  In accordance with the design of the missile attack warning system, in addition to over-the-horizon and over-the-horizon radars, it was supposed to include a space echelon. It made it possible to significantly expand its capabilities due to the ability to detect ballistic missiles almost immediately after launch.

  The lead developer of the space echelon of the warning system was the Central Research Institute "Kometa", and the Design Bureau named after them was responsible for the development of spacecraft. Lavochkina.

  By 1979, a space system for early detection of ICBM launches was deployed, consisting of four US-K spacecraft (SC) (Oko system) in highly elliptical orbits. To receive, process information and control the system’s spacecraft, an early warning control center was built in Serpukhov-15 (70 km from Moscow). After flight development tests, the first generation US-K system was put into service in 1982. It was intended to monitor continental missile-prone areas of the United States. To reduce exposure to background radiation from the Earth, reflections of sunlight from clouds, and glare, the satellites observed not vertically downward, but at an angle. For this purpose, the apogees of the highly elliptical orbit were located above the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. An additional advantage of this configuration was the ability to observe the basing areas of American ICBMs on both daily orbits, while maintaining direct radio communication with the command post near Moscow, or with Far East. This configuration provided conditions for observation of approximately 6 hours per day for one satellite. To ensure round-the-clock surveillance, it was necessary to have at least four spacecraft in orbit at the same time. In reality, to ensure reliability and reliability of observations, the constellation had to include nine satellites. This made it possible to have the necessary reserve in case of premature failure of satellites. In addition, the observation was carried out simultaneously by two or three spacecraft, which reduced the likelihood of issuing a false signal from illumination of the recording equipment directly or reflected from clouds sunlight. This configuration of 9 satellites was first created in 1987.

  In addition, since 1984, one US-KS spacecraft (Oko-S system) has been placed in geostationary orbit. It was the same basic satellite, slightly modified to operate in geostationary orbit.

  These satellites were positioned at 24° west longitude, providing surveillance central part territory of the United States on the edge of the visible disk of the Earth. Satellites in geostationary orbit have a significant advantage - they do not change their position relative to the Earth and can provide constant support to a constellation of satellites in highly elliptical orbits.

  The increase in the number of missile-hazardous areas made it necessary to ensure the detection of ballistic missile launches not only from the continental United States, but also from other areas globe. In this regard, the Central Research Institute "Kometa" began to develop a second-generation system for detecting ballistic missile launches from continents, seas and oceans, which was a logical continuation of the "Oko" system. Her distinctive feature, in addition to placing a satellite in geostationary orbit, there was the use of vertical observation of rocket launches against the background earth's surface. This solution allows not only to register the fact of missile launch, but also to determine the azimuth of their flight.

  The deployment of the US-KMO system began in February 1991 with the launch of the first second-generation spacecraft. In 1996, the US-KMO (“Oko-1”) system with a spacecraft in geostationary orbit was put into service.

  Russian missile attack warning system

  As of October 23, 2007, the early warning system orbital constellation consisted of three satellites - 1 US-KMO in geostationary orbit (Kosmos-2379 launched into orbit on 08/24/2001) and 2 US-KS in a highly elliptical orbit (Cosmos-2422 launched into orbit on 07/21/2001) .2006, Cosmos-2430 launched into orbit on October 23, 2007). On June 27, 2008, Kosmos-2440 was launched.

  To ensure the solution of the tasks of detecting ballistic missile launches and communicating combat control commands to the strategic nuclear forces (Strategic Nuclear Forces), it was planned to create a Unified space system(ECS).

  At the beginning of 2012, the planned deployment of high factory readiness radar stations (VZG radar) "Voronezh" is being carried out with the aim of forming a closed missile attack warning radar field at a new technological level with significantly improved characteristics and capabilities. On present moment new VZG radars were deployed in Lekhtusi (one meter), Armavir (two decimeter), Svetlogorsk (decimeter). The construction of a dual VZG meter range radar complex is progressing ahead of schedule in Irkutsk region- the first segment of the south-eastern direction has been put on experimental combat duty, the complex with the second antenna panel for viewing the eastern direction is planned to be put on the OBD in 2013. Work on creating a unified space system (USS) is entering the home stretch.
  

  Early warning stations of Russia on the territory of Ukraine
  

  In December 2005, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced the transfer to the United States of a package of proposals regarding cooperation in the rocket and space sector. After their formalization into the agreement, American specialists will have access to space infrastructure facilities subordinate to the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), including two Dnepr radar stations of the missile attack warning system (MAWS) in Sevastopol and Mukachevo, information from which is transmitted to SPRN central command post in Solnechnogorsk.

  Unlike early warning radars located in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, leased by Russia and maintained by Russian military personnel, Ukrainian radars have not only been owned by Ukraine since 1992, but have also been maintained by the Ukrainian military. Based on an interstate agreement, information from these radars, which monitor outer space over Central and Southern Europe, as well as the Mediterranean, is sent to the central command post of the early warning system in Solnechnogorsk, subordinate to the Russian space forces. For this, Ukraine received $1.2 million annually.

  In February 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense demanded that Russia increase the payment, but Moscow refused, recalling that the 1992 agreement was for 15 years. Then, in September 2005, Ukraine began the process of transferring the radar station to the NKAU, with a view to re-registering the agreement in connection with the change in the status of the radar station. Russia cannot prevent American specialists from accessing the radar. At the same time, Russia would have to rapidly deploy new Voronezh-DM radars on its territory, which it did, putting nodes on duty near Krasnodar Armavir and Kaliningrad Svetlogorsk.

  In March 2006, Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoly Gritsenko said that Ukraine would not lease two missile attack warning stations in Mukachevo and Sevastopol to the United States.

  In June 2006, the General Director of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), Yuriy Alekseev, said that Ukraine and Russia agreed to increase the service fee in the interests of the Russian side for the radar stations in Sevastopol and Mukachevo “one and a half times” in 2006.

  Currently, Russia has abandoned the use of stations in Sevastopol and Mukachevo. The leadership of Ukraine decided to dismantle both stations over the next 3 - 4 years. The military units serving the stations have already been disbanded.
  

  Main space reconnaissance center
  (Space Control Center)

  Main center for space reconnaissance (GC RKO) is an element of the Space Control System (SCCS), which is part of the Russian Missile and Space Defense Army (RKO). The SKKP serves to provide information support for the state's space activities and counter the space reconnaissance means of potential adversaries, assess the dangers of the space situation and communicate information to consumers.

  Performed tasks:
  • detection of space objects in geocentric orbits;
  • recognition of space objects by type;
  • determination of the time and area of ​​possible fall of space objects in emergency situations;
  • identification of dangerous approaches along the flight path of domestic manned spacecraft;
  • determination of the fact and parameters of spacecraft maneuver;
  • notification of overflights of foreign reconnaissance spacecraft;
  • information and ballistic support for the actions of active anti-missile and anti-space defense systems (ABM and PKO);
  • maintaining a catalog of space objects (Main System Catalog - GCS);
  • assessment of the performance of funds and SKKP;
  • control of the geostationary region of space;
  • analysis and assessment of the space situation.

  History of education
  

  On March 6, 1965, the Directive of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (VPVO) was signed on the formation of a “Special Central Control Commission Cadre” on the basis of the 45th Specialized Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense (SNII MO). This day has been the birthday of the Central Committee of the Red Cross since 1970. In April 1965, the government made a decision to build a complex of technological buildings for the Central Committee for Communal Use and Control in the Noginsk district of the Moscow region, which was named Noginsk-9. On October 7, 1965, the “Cadre of the Special Central Control Commission” was assigned the number - military unit No. 28289. The first temporary staff of the “Cadre of the Special Central Control Commission” was put into effect on April 27, 1965. November 20, 1965 - the first order in the history of the Central Control Commission was signed, which stated , that Lieutenant Colonel V.P. Smirnov took temporary command of the “Cadre of the Special Central Command and Control Commission.” At the end of 1965, Colonel N.A. Martynov, who graduated with a gold medal from the Academy of the General Staff, was appointed head of the Central Control Commission; Lieutenant Colonel V.P. Smirnov became the chief engineer. On October 1, 1966, based on a directive from the General Staff, the “Cadre of the Space Control Center” unit was transformed into the “Space Control Center”, removed from the 45th SNII MO and transferred to the command of the commander of military unit 73570.
  

  Air and Missile Defense Command (Air Defense and Missile Defense)
  (Operational-Strategic Aerospace Defense Command)

  Operational-Strategic Command of Aerospace Defense (USC VKO)- operational-strategic command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, intended for strategic defense Russia from threats from the air and from space. The headquarters is in the city of Balashikha (Moscow region). On December 1, 2011, on the basis of the USC VKO and the Russian Space Forces, a new branch of the military was created - the Aerospace Defense Forces.
  The only commander during the existence of the structure was Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov; on November 8, 2011, he was dismissed from the post of commander of the USC VKO troops and appointed first deputy commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces.

  Story

  USC East Kazakhstan region was formed during military reform 2008-2010 on the basis of the Special Purpose Command of the Moscow Air Defense District, disbanded on July 1, as well as a number of other structures of the Air Force and Space Forces of Russia.

  The USC East Kazakhstan region includes the following systems:
  • air defense (air defense)
  • reconnaissance and warning of aerospace attack
  • missile defense (BMD)
  • space surveillance.

    It is planned that over time, all forces and means intended for the strategic defense of the country from threats from both the air and space will be under a single command.

    The basis of the subsystem for reconnaissance and warning of an aerospace attack, as well as the subsystem for destroying aerospace attack weapons of foreign states, will be formations and units of aviation and air defense forces of the Air Force and missile and space defense troops from the space forces.

    At the same time, maintaining all units of the troops in a state of full combat readiness and timely execution of commands given from above will continue to be the responsibility of the previous headquarters and command structures: for example, the Air Force in the case of fighter-interceptors or the KV in the case of anti-missile defenses. However, operational management, as well as decision-making on the use of this or that type of weapon, will be in charge of the Joint Command.
    

    State Test Cosmodrome Plesetsk

    Plesetsk Cosmodrome (1st State Test Cosmodrome)- Russian cosmodrome. Located 180 kilometers south of Arkhangelsk not far from the Plesetskaya railway station of the Northern Railway. Total area The spaceport area is 176,200 hectares.

    The administrative and residential center of the cosmodrome is the city of Mirny. The number of personnel and population of the city of Mirny is approximately 28 thousand people. The territory of the cosmodrome belongs to municipality urban district "Mirny", bordering the Vinogradovsky, Plesetsk and Kholmogorsky districts of the Arkhangelsk region.

    The Plesetsk cosmodrome is a complex scientific and technical complex that performs various tasks both in the interests of the Russian Armed Forces and for peaceful purposes.

    It contains:
    • launch complexes with launch vehicles;
    • technical complexes for the preparation of space rockets and spacecraft;
    • multifunctional refueling and neutralization station (FNS) for refueling launch vehicles, upper stages and spacecraft with rocket fuel components;
    • 1473 buildings and structures;
    • 237 energy supply facilities.
    The main units placed in the starting structure are:
    • Launch table;
    • Cable filling tower.

    From the 1970s until the early 1990s, the Plesetsk cosmodrome held the world leadership in the number of rocket launches into space (from 1957 to 1993, 1,372 launches were carried out from here, while only 917 were launched from Baikonur, which was in second place).

    However, since the 1990s, the annual number of launches from Plesetsk is less than from Baikonur. Russia carried out 28 launches of launch vehicles in 2008, maintaining first place in the world in the number of launches and surpassing its own figure for 2007. Most (19) of the 27 launches were carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, six from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. One space launch was carried out from the Yasny launch base ( Orenburg region) and the Kapustin Yar testing ground (Astrakhan region). In 2008, the United States conducted 14 launches of launch vehicles, including four shuttles. China launched 11 rockets into space, Europe - six. Other countries have carried out three or fewer launches. In 2007, Russia carried out 26 launches, the USA - 19, China - 10, the European Space Agency - 6, India - 3, Japan - 2.

    Among the currently operating cosmodromes, Plesetsk is the northernmost cosmodrome in the world (if you do not count sites for suborbital launches as cosmodromes). Situated on a plateau-like and slightly hilly plain, the cosmodrome covers an area of ​​1762 km², stretching from north to south for 46 kilometers and from east to west for 82 kilometers with a center having geographical coordinates 63°00′ N. w. 41°00′ E. d. (G) (O).

    The cosmodrome has an extensive network of roads - 301.4 km and railways - 326 km, aviation equipment and a first-class military airfield, allowing the operation aircraft with a maximum landing weight of up to 220 tons, such as Il-76, Tu-154, communications equipment, including space.

    The railway network of the Plesetsk cosmodrome is one of the largest departmental ones in Russia railways. From the Gorodskaya railway station, located in the city of Mirny, passenger trains depart daily on several routes. The length of the farthest of them is about 80 kilometers.
    

    Kura Missile Range- test site of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. Located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, near the village of Klyuchi, 500 km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in a swampy, deserted area on the Kamchatka River. The main purpose is to receive the warheads of ballistic missiles after test and training launches, control the parameters of their entry into the atmosphere and the accuracy of the hit.

    The test site was established on April 29, 1955 and was initially codenamed “Kama”. A Separate Scientific Testing Station (ONIS) was formed, formed on the basis of Research Institute No. 4 in the village of Bolshevo, Moscow Region. The development of the training ground began on June 1, 1955 with the help of a separate radar battalion assigned to it. IN short terms the military town of Klyuchi-1, a network of roads, an airfield and a number of special structures were built.

    Currently, the test site continues to function, remaining one of the most closed facilities of the Strategic Missile Forces. The following are stationed at the training ground: military unit 25522 (43rd Separate Scientific Testing Station), military unit 73990 (14th separate measuring complex), military unit 25923 (military hospital), military unit 32106 (aviation commandant's office), military unit 13641 ( separate mixed aviation squadron). More than a thousand officers, warrant officers, contract soldiers and about 240 conscripts serve at the training ground.

    To monitor the test site, the United States maintains a permanent observation station, Eareckson Air Station (former Shemya airbase), 935 kilometers from the test site, on one of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The base is equipped with radars and aircraft to monitor hits at the training ground. One of these radars, "Cobra Dane", was created in 1977 at Shemya specifically for this purpose.

    On June 1, 2010, the test site was withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces and included in the structure of the Space Forces.