US Space Force UAP role: the orbital and space-domain UAP record
The United States Space Force is the newest US service branch and the principal operator of US space-domain awareness assets. Its UAP-relevant work covers the orbital end of AARO's 'all-domain' charter — uncatalogued objects in Earth orbit, anomalous trajectories, and the boundary between debris, adversary craft, and the unidentified.
USSF was established on 20 December 2019 under the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2020, inheriting the personnel and missions of Air Force Space Command. Its principal UAP-relevant assets are the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) — the global radar and optical network that catalogues every tracked object above approximately 10 cm in size in Earth orbit — and the 18th and 19th Space Defense Squadrons, which operate the SSN day-to-day from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Space Force's UAP role is operational rather than investigative. Anomalous orbital objects — tracks that do not match the published catalogue and cannot be promptly attributed — are referred to AARO under Section 1683 of the FY2022 NDAA, which gave AARO explicit all-domain authority including the space domain. The Space Force-to-AARO referral pipeline is the principal mechanism by which orbital UAP enter the formal US government record.
Beyond the catalogue work, USSF assets — including the GEODSS optical telescopes at Diego Garcia, Maui, and Socorro, the Eglin AN/FPS-85 phased-array radar, and the space-based SBIRS infrared constellation — produce sensor data that has been cited in AARO case dispositions. The exact disposition of specific orbital-UAP cases remains largely classified; the structural fact that the pipeline exists is itself part of the modern record.
This hub aggregates every event in the database whose primary source is a Space Force asset, statement, or publication, plus the broader institutional materials defining the USSF UAP role.
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Frequently asked
- When was the US Space Force established?
- 20 December 2019, under the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2020. It is the sixth US service branch and the first new branch since the establishment of the Air Force in 1947.
- What is the Space Surveillance Network?
- A global network of approximately 30 ground-based radars and optical telescopes that catalogues every tracked object larger than approximately 10 cm in Earth orbit. The SSN is operated principally by the US Space Force's 18th and 19th Space Defense Squadrons at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The public catalogue currently lists roughly 47,000 objects.
- What is the Space Force's role in UAP investigation?
- Operational, not investigative. Anomalous orbital objects — tracks that do not match the published SSN catalogue and cannot be promptly attributed — are referred to AARO under Section 1683 of the FY2022 NDAA. Space Force provides sensor data; AARO does the analytical work.
- Are any Space Force UAP cases public?
- The disposition of specific orbital-UAP cases remains largely classified. The public record consists primarily of (a) AARO statements acknowledging the Space Force-to-AARO referral pipeline, (b) the SSN catalogue itself (publicly searchable at space-track.org), and (c) general statements from Space Force leadership including former Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond about the all-domain UAP mandate.
- What's the difference between Space Force and Air Force on UAP?
- The Air Force handles atmospheric UAP within its operational areas (CONUS air defence, deployed expeditionary forces). Space Force handles the orbital domain (anything above approximately 100 km altitude). Both feed AARO. The transition altitude is fuzzy in practice — high-altitude balloons and re-entry events can straddle the boundary.
Canonical reading on this topic
Non-fiction titles by named witnesses, Pentagon insiders, and investigative journalists referenced in this archive.
- UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the RecordLeslie Kean · 2010
- In Plain Sight: An Investigation Into UFOs and Impossible ScienceRoss Coulthart · 2021
- UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here—and Out ThereGarrett M. Graff · 2023
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How other governments handle UAP
U.S. material is the single largest body in the public UAP record, but it isn't the only one. France's GEIPAN has run a transparent case database since 1977; the UK MoD released ~60,000 pages between 2008 and 2017; Japan's evolving track is the program currently moving fastest in 2026. Every state-run UAP-investigation body with a public archive — fifteen countries to date — is catalogued in one place.
Browse international government archives →Looking for related material? Browse the full timeline, the on-the-record witnesses, or every topical tag.