A ceremony Monday at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs marked the official re-opening of the U.S. Space Command.
General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on hand to mark the occasion. Dunford said that space has become a contested domain, and the new command is a necessary step to be able to compete and fight and win on the battlefield.
Dunford called it a new "Sputnik moment."
"And you could argue that the stakes are much higher than they were in the late 1950s and early 1960s," he said. "The reestablishment of Space Command should be understood as part of a broader effort to maintain our nation's competitive advantage in space."
The initial headquarters of Space Command is at Peterson Air Force Base, which is home to the 21st Space Wing. The unit has long provided other space operations, including missile defense warning systems.
"Those of you in this room have delivered the space capabilities we need in recent years, and no one has done it better," said Dunford. "But this is about taking it to the next level."
General John "Jay" Raymond, already at Peterson Air Force Base, is tasked with leading the new Space Command.
