WASHINGTON — Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station will officially become U.S. Space Force bases.

These Colorado-based installations are home to the largest concentration of Space Force personnel. Space Force units there conduct space control, surveillance, missile defense and other operational missions. 

The bases will be renamed Schriever Space Force Base, Peterson Space Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station in ceremonies planned for July 26.

“The new names will better reflect the installations roles in the U.S. Space Force,” the spokesman said. “This action is part of the overall initiative by the Department of the Air Force to establish a unique identity and culture within the U.S. Space Force.”

Since the Space Force was established in December 2019, former Air Force bases focused on space have been rebranded, including Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, New Boston Space Force Station in New Hampshire, and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The one remaining Air Force base that has yet to be renamed is Los Angeles Air Force Base, home of the Space and Missile Systems Center. The Space Force plans to replace SMC with a new Space Systems Command to be based at the Los Angeles base.

Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense...