EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Hundreds of Space Systems Command (SSC) Guardians and their families turned out Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 at Los Angeles Air Force Base to celebrate the U.S. Space Force Field Command’s 5th anniversary.
USSF Col. Andrew Menschner, deputy commander, SSC, welcomed the attendees and shared how today, SSC operates as a flatter, agile Space Force Field Command to maximize a collaborative relationship between space acquirers and space operators. Nine Portfolio Acquisition Executives have been established, who own end-to-end missions, not just isolated programs. And eight System Deltas now provide “cradle to grave” integration to bridge the gap between the professionals who build capabilities and the operators who use them.
“We’ve watched with pride as the systems we built paved the way for major combat operations and protected American lives,” Menschner said. “By linking our acquirers to the combat operators, we’ve ensured that space capabilities are fully integrated into the joint force and ready to fight from day one.”
Menschner also talked about the evolution of the National Security Space Launch program (NSSL), including the record-breaking pace of 181 launches in a single year (82 percent of the world’s total) and NSSL Phase 3, which implemented a revolutionary dual-lane approach to maximize commercial competition.
Menschner shared details about additional accomplishments that have strengthened its mission areas and accelerated acquisition and commercial integration – ensuring the Command is outpacing its adversary’s decision cycle by leveraging rapid contracting and commercial innovation. He also referenced how the Command has boosted Other Transaction Authority Awards by 473 percent, through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC), which has improved rapid deployment capabilities such as the 27-hour Victus Nox launch.
Chris Pimentel, mayor of the city of El Segundo, presented a proclamation declaring Thursday, Aug. 13 as United States Space Force Space Systems Command Day.
“Over the past five years, Space Systems Command has fundamentally transformed national security space architecture by accelerating the launch of critical assets, including advanced missile warning and tracking systems, secure global communications, and next-generation GPS technologies that protect our warfighters globally,” the proclamation read in part.
“We are so delighted to see this newest evolution in Space Systems Command continuing that thread of technical and operational excellence together,” Pimentel said. “Understand that everyone in this city and in this region takes great pride in your presence and understands the critical role you play and we join with you in the defense of our great country.”
Afterwards, SSC’s military, civilian and contractor workforce was invited provide brief recorded messages about why they choose to serve. Children of SSC’s workforce, including those from the Los Angeles Air Force Base Child Development Center, took part in a STEM fair that included numerous hands-on learning activities.
“Our goal is to inspire kids to be interested in space, rockets and satellites,” said Nicole Tibbetts, SSC STEM executive lead. “And we do that by building paper rockets that they can launch. We also have a ‘target practice range’ that shows the different orbits – LEO, MEO, Geosynchronous and Geostationary and of course, highly elliptical orbit. Kids this age are little sponges and love to learn.”
Children also could draw a picture of what their Guardian parent does at work and look at several space exhibits, including a piece of real space junk.
Nine cadets from the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol also were on hand to assist and mentor the younger children at the STEM fair. Senior Airman Oscar Garza, 14, and Airman Basic Zachary Moon, 16, chose to work with the children learning about Cubelets robot blocks, which Garza explained were a lot like satellite parts.
“There’s a light sensor, a heat sensor and a motion sensor,” Garza said. “There’s a lot of engineering to these little blocks because sometimes the wheels are turned in different directions and you’ve just got to problem-solve.”
1ST Lt. Lynn Schrempf, deputy commander of Cadet Squadron 3, said the Civil Air Patrol is the official civilian auxiliary for the U.S. Air Force; it has three congressionally chartered missions – emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs. While some cadets, like Garza, hope to become Air Force Pilots, the program exposes the cadets to a number of different career paths.
“One of our cadets met a micronuclear reactor engineer (at AFCEA Space Industry Days in 2024) and they geeked out for almost two hours on nuclear chemistry, which was just incredible,” Schrempf said. “The more the engineer spoke to the cadet, the more the cadet was (asking questions) and it was just a wonderful thing to see this interest blossom out of this one simple conversation -- and a high school student all of a sudden found a calling.”
Meanwhile, the younger children assembled their own paper rockets and then got the opportunity to test their creations on a pneumatic rocket launcher, firing them into the sky and competing for the maximum altitude and distance.
“The rocket launch builds excitement – to be able to see a science experiment that you built in the last half an hour out of merely paper, a snow cone and tape and see it launch 100 to 150 feet in the sky – it’s just inspiring,” Tibbetts said.
Menschner summed it all up best, “The true strength of SSC is its workforce -- an incredible group of people with extraordinary talents, all united by a profound dedication to this nation and to our communities. At the end of the day, our greatest capability and our most lethal weapon system is the sheer determination of the people of SSC.