Photos

Cadets march into Falcon Stadium to start the U.S. Air Force Academy's Class of 2022 graduation ceremony at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 25, 2022. Some 970 cadets crossed the stage to become the newest second lieutenants in the Air Force or Space Force.

Space Force Spc3 Raquel Goins completes training on a computer at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., April 21, 2022.

Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Milner speaks to middle school students about the B-1B Lancer at Maxwell Air Force base, Ala., May 12, 2022.

A Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Starlink mission, launches from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., May 13, 2022.

Members of the Vandenberg Space Force Base Honor Guard team unfurl the new 18th Space Defense Squadron’s flag during a re-designation ceremony at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., April 13, 2022.

Air Force airmen and Space Force Guardians conduct a retreat ceremony at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., April 27, 2022. Retreat marks the end of the duty day and the ceremony is conducted during the playing of the national anthem with the lowering and folding of the flag.

A Falcon 9 rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., April 27, 2022. The mission carried four astronauts to the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 rocket launches at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., April 8, 2022, for the first all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

Airmen and guardians participate in a graduation ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio, March 24, 2022.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Rocio Romo and her son share a laugh at Cocheo Park at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., March 25, 2022.

More than 600 airmen and guardians graduate from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, March 17, 2022.

A service member embraces a loved one at a graduation ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio, March 10, 2022. More than 700 airmen and guardians assigned to the 320th Training Squadron graduated from basic military training.

An Atlas V rocket launches at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., March 1, 2022. The mission carried a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advanced geostationary weather satellite into orbit.

More than 600 airmen and guardians graduate from basic military training during a ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio, March 3, 2022.

An Atlas V rocket carrying the GOES-T spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., March 1, 2022. GOES-T will provide NASA and NOAA with continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, lightning detection and mapping, solar imaging and space weather monitoring.

Space Force Spc. Brannon Kan assists a student in assembling a model rover during the interactive rover exercise at a school in Aurora, Colo., Feb. 4, 2022.

Space Force 1st Lt. Allan Balcita answers questions on space and planets at Harmony Ridge School, Aurora, Colo., Feb. 4, 2022. Balcita and other guardians volunteered to take part in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics event at the school.

A Falcon 9 rocket launches from LC-39A at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., Jan. 18, 2022. The Starlink 4-6 mission delivered 49 satellites into orbit.

A Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., Jan. 31, 2022. The Italian built COSMO-SkyMed Earth observation second generation satellite is equipped with state-of-the-art radar technology, which will help provide data on a global scale for a variety of different applications.

Air Force Capt. Lauren Bauer swears in future Space Force Guardians during a ceremony at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 15, 2022.