Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Space Force's 21st Space Wing, elements of the Space Force's Space Systems Command, and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters. Developed as a World War II air support base for Camp Carson, the facility conducted Army Air Forces training and supported Cold War air defense centers at the nearby Ent Air Force Base, Chidlaw Building, and Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The base was the location of the Air Force Space Command headquarters from 1987 to 20 December 2019 and has had NORAD/NORTHCOM command center operations since the 2006 Cheyenne Mountain Realignment placed the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex on standby. On 26 July 2021, the installation was renamed Peterson Space Force Base to reflect its prominent role in the new space service.
Peterson Space Force Base in the context of Air Force Space Command
Space Force Combat Forces Command is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command. Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it consists of its mission deltas and garrison commands.
It was established on 1 September 1982 as Space Command (SPACECOM), the first dedicated U.S. space command. On 15 November 1985, it was renamed Air Force Space Command (AFSPC or AFSPACECOM) to distinguish it from U.S. Space Command, Naval Space Command, and Army Space Command. On 20 December 2019, after the establishment of the United States Space Force as an independent service, Air Force Space Command was redesignated as United States Space Force (USSF) and served as the transitional headquarters of the new service, but remained a component of the U.S. Air Force. On 21 October 2020, United States Space Force was redesignated as Space Operations Command and officially transitioned from being a U.S. Air Force major command to a U.S. Space Force field command.
View the full Wikipedia page for Air Force Space Command