United States Air Force

Government / agency · United States · founded 1947

Industry / Companies / United States Air Force

649Orbital launches
28,788All launches (incl. suborbital)
315Satellites in orbit
30Satellites built
4Rockets / spacecraft

United States Air Force is a government organisation based in the United States, founded in 1947. Our records show 649 orbital launches, 315 satellites in orbit and 4 rockets or spacecraft.

Totals include the divisions, sites and subsidiaries listed under Structure below.

Official website · Wikipedia · More from United States

Structure

Divisions, sites and subsidiaries

US Air Force Systems Command, Los Angeles AFS 279 orbital launches · 61 satellites in orbit USAF Space and Missile Systems Organization 172 orbital launches · 57 satellites in orbit US Air Force Space Division 60 orbital launches · 22 satellites in orbit USAF Air Research and Development Command 44 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit US Air Force Space and Missile Center 23 orbital launches · 109 satellites in orbit US Air Force Aerospace Defense Command 22 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit USAF 3SLS 16 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit Boeing/USAF 2SLS 10 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit USAF Strategic Air Command, 4300th Support Sqn. 8 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit US Air Force Space Command 7 orbital launches · 8 satellites in orbit USAF 4SLS 6 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit Operationally Responsive Space Office, Dept. of Defense 1 orbital launches · 2 satellites in orbit USAF Strategic Air Command, 394th ICBM Test Maintenance Sqn 1 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit US Air Force Research Laboratories/RV (Space Vehicles Directorate) 0 orbital launches · 20 satellites in orbit USAF SMC/DoD Space Test Program 0 orbital launches · 18 satellites in orbit US Air Force Office of Aerospace Research 0 orbital launches · 10 satellites in orbit United States Air Force Academy 0 orbital launches · 3 satellites in orbit US Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB 0 orbital launches · 1 satellites in orbit US Air Force Materiel Command 0 orbital launches · 1 satellites in orbit US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office 0 orbital launches · 1 satellites in orbit USAF Space and Missile Center, TE directorate 0 orbital launches · 1 satellites in orbit USAF Western Space and Missile Center 0 orbital launches · 1 satellites in orbit 11th Tactical Missile Sqn, USAF 0 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit 1st Guided Missile Squadron, 6540th Missile Test Wing (Mat/Snark) 0 orbital launches · 0 satellites in orbit

Showing 24 of 109 related records.

Products

Rockets and spacecraft

NameTypeStatusFirst flightLaunchesTo low orbit
Thor DM-21 Agena-B Rocket Retired 1960 40 (8 failed)
Atlas Agena B Rocket Retired 1961 29 (8 failed)
Thor DM-21 Ablestar Rocket Retired 1960 19 (6 failed) 150 kg
Delta DM-19 Rocket Retired 1960 3
Activity

Orbital launches per year

111315

Last 15 years. Peak: 2 launches in one year.

Satellites in orbit

By platform

IDCSP27
GPS20
Series 400018
Block 5D14
DSCS III14
GPS IIF12
DSCS II12
BSS-702HP10

Recent launches

DateMissionVehicleSiteResult
10 Oct 2026 Mk 21-2B RVMinotaur I LiteV Success
20 May 2026 GT256Minuteman 3V Success
4 Mar 2026 GT255Minuteman 3V Success
5 Nov 2025 GT254Minuteman 3V Success
21 May 2025 GT253Minuteman 3V Success
19 Feb 2025 GT252?Minuteman 3V Success
6 Nov 2024 GT251Minuteman 3V Success
18 Jun 2024 Mk 21A RVMinotaur I LiteV Success
6 Jun 2024 GT250Minuteman 3V Success
4 Jun 2024 GT249Minuteman 3V Success
Mar 2024 AGM-183AARRWGUAMA Unknown
1 Nov 2023 GT248Minuteman 3V Failure
In the news

Recent headlines

Matched by name; a headline may mention this organisation without being about it. All headlines.

Provenance

Where this comes from

This entry merges 2 sources: Launch Library 2 · GCAT (J. McDowell)
Verification status: cross-checked across sources, not yet reviewed by a person. How we build and check this data.

Launch and satellite data: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT (CC BY 4.0) and CelesTrak. Rockets, spacecraft and agencies: Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs and Wikidata. News headlines link to their publishers via the Spaceflight News API and RSS feeds. Records come from several sources and are matched automatically, so treat the directory as a research aid, not an authority. How the data is built and checked.