While space is growing ever more tense, the U.S. is staying well ahead of Russia and China, the deputy secretary of defense said Wednesday at Peterson Space Force Base. 

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks described the nation’s competitive advantage in space at a change-of-command ceremony welcoming the new leader of Space Command and celebrating the achievements of Gen. James Dickinson, who has led the command since 2020.  

While Russia and China are developing capabilities to target GPS and other space-based systems, the secretary said the U.S. is committed to deterring conflict in space, in part, through launching smaller, cheaper satellites. 

“We’re now approaching a future where the web of satellites we can draw upon is so great that attacking or disrupting them would be futile, a wasted effort, and a highly escalatory one at that,” she said.

China is also growing its fleet of satellites, doubling launches from 2019 to 2023 and tripling the number of payloads, she said. During that same time, U.S. space launches annually have quadrupled, and the number of American payloads have increased 13 times. 

China sent up 240 payloads in 2023, while the U.S. has launched 2,500 payloads, Hicks said.

Space Command and its staff of 8,000 from across the services is charged with protecting all U.S. assets above 100 kilometers above sea level and deterring conflict. 

Dickinson, who is retiring after 38 years in the military, helped lay the foundation for that work and lead the command to reach full operational capability in mid-December.

Adm. Christopher Grady described Dickinson as “a true warrior with an engineer’s mind” who helped break apart tough problems.

Dickinson said he worked to educate the command on threats and adversaries so the team can outmaneuver the nation’s enemies. He also led work to build up intelligence gathering and real time analysis to inform decision-making.

At the same time, the command has strengthened relationships and now has partnerships with 33 nations. It has also brought in representatives from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and France to work in its headquarters, Dickinson said. 

Gen. Stephen Whiting, who is taking over leadership, expects to focus on core operational missions.

“Our highest priority is to preserve freedom of action in space,” he said. 

Whiting was most recently leading Space Operations Command within Space Force. The operations command based at Peterson is charged with providing Space Command with intelligence, cyber, space and combat support. 

While under Whiting’s leadership, the operations command activated over 50 detachments and squadrons, according to a news release. 

His new role within the command fulfills a dream he had of working within the command during the 1980s when he read about previous version of Space Command getting set up as an Air Force Academy cadet, he said. The previous command merged with Strategic Command in 2002. President Donald Trump established the new command in 2019.

The transition of leadership for the new command has been significantly delayed, because U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville was holding up all military nominations last year over the Department of Defense’s abortion policy. He recently lifted his hold on hundreds of nominations after it became clear the Senate intended to change its rules to no longer allow a single senator to hold up military nominations. 

Hicks thanked Dickinson for delaying his retirement while waiting for Whiting’s approval, calling Tuberville’s hold unprecedented and unsafe. 

“As a soldier, you also know what it means to stand a post until properly relieved. Unfortunately, confirming your relief took longer than it should have. Much longer,” she said. 

Dickinson, the first Army general to lead Space Command, expects to retire locally.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks attends a change-of-command ceremony at Space Command Wednesday and lauded the nation’s space power.

courtesy of Space Command

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks attends a change-of-command ceremony Wednesday at the Space Command.

courtesy of Space Command