Space Systems Command

Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's space development, acquisition, launch, and logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California and manages the United States' space launch ranges.

Space Systems Command is the oldest military space organization in the United States Armed Forces, first established as the Western Development Division (WDD) on 1 April 1954 under Air Research and Development Command to manage the U.S. Air Force's ballistic missile program. It gained responsibility for spacecraft development in 1955 and was renamed the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (AFBMD) in 1957. As part of Air Research and Development Command's transformation the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division's space and missile responsibilities were split, with the Space Systems Division (SSD) established in 1961. In 1967, the Space Systems Division was reorganized as the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO), absorbing the Ballistic Systems Division. In 1979, the Space and Missile Systems Organization was renamed the Space Division and divested itself of ballistic missile development. In 1989, the Space Division returned to its historic name of the Space Systems Division and regained its ballistic missile development role in 1990.

With the merger of Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Logistics Command in 1992, the Space Systems Division was redesignated the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). In response to the recommendations of the Space Commission, in 2001 it was reassigned to Air Force Space Command, remaining attached through its redesignation as Space Operations Command in October 2020. On 22 April 2021, it transferred from a U.S. Air Force unit to a U.S. Space Force unit and was reassigned from Space Operations Command to Headquarters United States Space Force. On 13 August 2021, the Space and Missile Systems Center was renamed Space Systems Command and became a full U.S. Space Force field command.