The Personality of Organized Space

The United States Air Force's involvement in space is slightly longer than 50 years. Air Force Space Command, the primary organization responsible for organizing, training and equipping Air Force space, is 25 years old. This study selects key events from the brief history of Air Force Space Command to tell a story about the organizational personality of Air Force Space Command from its establishment in1982 to present. This thesis suggests certain traits may have been present within Air Force Space Command throughout this brief organizational history. By tracing the development of Air Force Space Command's organizational personality against a contextual backdrop of the Cold War, the failure to successfully partner with NASA in the 1980s on the space shuttle program, the military success of the Persian Gulf War, as well as the merger of ICBM operators into Air Force Space Command, this paper offers suggestions for today's students and tomorrow's senior leaders in the military space community.