By BlueShift | 2024-10-04

The US Space Force for the first time launched one of its Guardians into space from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on September 28.

Col. Nick Hague, Space Force Guardian and NASA astronaut, is in command of the NASA SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where he will take part in scientific research and maintenance activities.

Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov boarded the station just after 7pm.

"I feel privileged to have the opportunity to cast a broader spotlight on everything that Guardians do to make human space flight possible," Hague said in a Space Force press release.

"The average person might not understand that human space flight doesn't exist if Guardians aren't doing what they do on a day-to-day basis, whether it's launching us into space and the range support that we get there or it's tracking or navigation … if the Space Force and its Guardians and US Space Command are not doing their jobs, we don't explore space."

The Space Force secures the United States' interests in, from and to space to ensure space superiority, global mission operations and assured space access.

To do this, the service has strong partnerships within the space sector, to include NASA, which focuses on space science and exploration, and industry, which provides commercial services to public and private customers.

While each sector has distinct roles, effective space operations are possible only with enduring partnerships.

"NASA and the Space Force have very different functions, but we share a common interest in the free and responsible use of the space domain," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in the press release.

"We also share an understanding of the importance of integrating with our allies and partners, joining Guardian values to civil space objectives for the collective good. I wish Nick all the best on his mission to the International Space Station."

Space Force Guardians

As the youngest branch of the US armed forces, the US Space Force chose the title "Guardian" for its personnel -- the counterpart to soldier and airman for the US Army and Air Force, respectively.

In only five years of existence, the Space Force has rapidly recruited about 9,400 active duty Guardians.

The service is responsible for organizing, training and equipping its Guardians, who then go to the unified combatant commands for operational employment, mainly US Space Command (SPACECOM).

Guardians operating in space is not a typical Space Force mission -- Hague is the only active-duty Guardian astronaut.

Hague will participate in a variety of human research studies like how to avoid injury upon coming back to Earth and learning how space travel affects the human body on a molecular level, according to NASA.

He will also help with research on Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome, which occurs when body fluids shift toward the head during weightlessness.

Hague is also set to retrieve two astronauts who have been stranded on the ISS by problems with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.