The National Space Intelligence Center(NSIC) formerly known as "Space Delta 18" or "DEL 18", is the United States Space Force's intelligence agency. It is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and activated on 24 June 2022.
| National Space Intelligence Center | |
|---|---|
 Emblem | |
| Active | 24 June 2022–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Space Force |
| Type | Delta |
| Role | Space intelligence |
| Size | 350 personnel (expected)[1] |
| Part of | Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence |
| Headquarters | Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Col Marcus D. Starks |
| Deputy Director | Cheryl Richmond[2] |
| Senior Enlisted Leader | CMSgt Melissa M. Owens[3] |
NSIC is a field operating agency that is responsible for performing national and military space missions and evaluating capabilities, performance, limitations, and vulnerabilities of space and counter-space systems and services. It is the Space Force's counterpart to the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center, Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). [1]
History
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The establishment of NSIC was ordered by Chief of Space Operations John W. Raymond.[4] It will be formed by transferring NASIC's Space Analysis Squadron and Counter-Space Analysis Squadron from the Space and Missiles Analysis Group to the Space Force.[5] Then Air Force Major General Leah Lauderback, the Space Force director of intelligence (S2)—to whom the center will ultimately report—led the planning effort. Congressional authorization is needed to create a field operating agency that reports directly to the S2.[1]
Awaiting funding for the establishment of the NSIC, the Space Force stood up the Space Force Intelligence Activity (SFIA) on 24 September 2021 as an interim unit. SFIA served under NASIC until the establishment of NSIC.[6] On 24 June 2022, NSIC was activated as Space Delta 18.[7]
On 28 June 2024, DEL 18 and NSIC were transferred from SpOC and redesignated as a field operating agency under the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence.[8] As part of the elevation to field operating agency, it was redesignated to the National Space Defense Center, losing the name Space Delta 18.[9]
Symbolism
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The National Space Intelligence Center emblem design incorporates elements from the intelligence and space communities, its National Air and Space Intelligence Center heritage, and looks to the future. It consists of the following elements:[10]
- Platinum is the distinctive color of Space Operations Command and represents the strength of its uniformed and civilian Guardians, the rarity of its calling, and the nobility of its mission.
- The sphinx is an ancient Egyptian symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and the challenges that the National Space Intelligence Center will solve. It is invoked out of pride in an organization that traces roots to the earliest days of intelligence. It sits omnipresent over the world – just like the space domain, gazing upward, drawing eyes from the past into the future and the blackness of space.
- The North Star's eight points symbolize points of a compass and displays how intelligence professionals will analyze and access to guide acquisitions, policymakers, and warfighters.
Under its previous designation as Space Delta 18, DEL 18 took on the number 18 in honor of the Space Force becoming the 18th member of the United States Intelligence Community on 15 January 2021.[7][11]
Structure
editNSIC is composed of the following two squadrons transferred from NASIC's Space and Missiles Analysis Group.[12]
1st Space Analysis Squadron, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
2nd Space Analysis Squadron, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
List of commanders
edit| No. | Commander | Term | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | ||
| 1 | Colonel Marqus D. Randall | 24 June 2022 | 28 June 2024 | 2 years, 4 days | [13] | |
| 2 | Colonel Marcus D. Starks | 28 June 2024 | Incumbent | 181 days | [8] | |
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See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ a b c "Space Force Prepares to Launch National Space Intelligence Center". SIGNAL Magazine. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Ms. Cheryl Richmond".
- ^ "Chief Master Sergeant Melissa M. Owens". www.spoc.spaceforce.mil. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ https://media.defense.gov/2020/Nov/09/2002531998/-1/-1/0/CSO%20PLANNING%20GUIDANCE.PDF Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "National Space Intelligence Center Takes Shape". 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Space Force intelligence organization established at Wright Patterson Air Force Base". 4 October 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Space Delta 18 Activation, NSIC establishment ceremony". Space Operations Command (SpOC). 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ a b "NSIC changes commanders, redesignated Field Operating Agency". United States Space Force. 1 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/Article/3820323/national-space-intelligence-center/
- ^ "Space Delta 18 (National Space Intelligence Center) Emblem Explainer".
- ^ "US Space Force Becomes 18th Member of US Intelligence Community". Defense One. 8 January 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ "Space Delta 18". Space Operations Command (SpOC). Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Colonel Marqus D. Randall". www.spoc.spaceforce.mil. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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