The 45th Space Wing, which oversees Eastern Range launches from Florida, has a new name: Space Launch Delta 45.
The name change was announced Tuesday and happens after Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force bases were also renamed under continued changes with the establishment of the U.S. Space Force.
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The 45th Space Wing, which includes Patrick and the Space Force Station, oversees the Eastern range and was re-assigned to the U.S. Space Force. The Eastern Range covers more than 10,000 miles from Florida through the South Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean and includes Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and a network of instrumentation stations.
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The name change also comes with a new emblem. The new Space Launch Delta 45 emblem is midnight blue and silver gray representing the edge of Earth’s atmosphere and space. A large globe in the center represents our planet and another smaller circle represents other worlds. Some of the emblem, including the globes, was adopted from previous designs to honor the history of the test center for missiles.
The standing up of the new Delta would have been in person but was a virtual event due to the pandemic.
Commander of the 45th Space Wing Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Purdy Jr. appeared at the end of the video.
“There is no better place to mark this next Space Force milestone than right here on the Eastern Range, where we sent the first Americans into space, the first man on the moon, watched so many of our national security satellites and conducted the first commercial space mission, no place is steeped in a richer space history nor is there one that continues to bring us to the edge of innovation and beyond,” Purdy said.
This isn’t the first name change for the 45th. The Air Force Space Command was officially renamed the 45th Space Wing in 1991, overseeing its first launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Since its founding, the 45th space wing has supported nearly 800 launches.
The history of the command dates back to the 1940s when Florida’s Space Coast was used for Army missile testing. There have been several name changes over the years since its foundation.
“While there are many challenging unknowns that will come with standing up this Delta, there are a far greater number of exciting possibilities because we continue to explore the complex and dynamic environment of space,” Purdy said. “After all, maybe your purpose on this planet isn’t on this planet. I encourage you to lean forward as we step into this new chapter, the future is where we will make history.”
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