Space Delta 18
National Space Intelligence Center
Delta emblem
Active24 June 2022–present
Country United States
Branch United States Space Force
TypeDelta
RoleSpace intelligence
Size350 personnel (expected)[1]
Part ofSpace Operations Command
HeadquartersWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Commanders
CommanderCol Marqus Q. Randall
Deputy DirectorJohn Gass[2]
Senior Enlisted LeaderCMSgt Melissa M. Owens[3]

Space Delta 18 (DEL 18) is a United States Space Force unit that serves as the National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC). It is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and activated on 24 June 2022.

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 National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). [1]

History

Lt Gen Whiting (left) and Col Randall (right) stand at attention during the activation of Space Delta 18, June 24, 2022

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] Air Force Lieutenant 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.[2][7]

Symbolism

Emblem of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Space Delta 18's direct predecessor in the U.S. Air Force.

The Space Delta 18's 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:[8]

  • Platinum is the distinctive color of Space Operations Command and represents the strength of its unified 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.

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][9]

Structure

DEL 18 is composed of the following two squadrons transferred from NASIC's Space and Missiles Analysis Group.[10]

List of commanders

No. Commander Term Ref
Portrait Name Took office Left office Duration
1
Marqus Q. Randall
Randall, Marqus Q.Colonel
Marqus Q. Randall		24 June 2022Incumbent1 year, 187 days[11]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Space Delta 18.
  1. 1 2 3 "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.
  2. 1 2 "John Gass on LinkedIn: #spaceforce #intelligence | 24 comments". www.linkedin.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Chief Master Sergeant Melissa M. Owens". www.spoc.spaceforce.mil. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  4. ↑ https://media.defense.gov/2020/Nov/09/2002531998/-1/-1/0/CSO%20PLANNING%20GUIDANCE.PDF Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "National Space Intelligence Center Takes Shape". 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. 1 2 "Space Delta 18 Activation, NSIC establishment ceremony". Space Operations Command (SpOC). Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Space Delta 18 (National Space Intelligence Center) Emblem Explainer".
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "Space Delta 18". Space Operations Command (SpOC). Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Colonel Marqus D. Randall". www.spoc.spaceforce.mil. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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