The partnership between the U.S. Air Force and Space Force deepened this week with the creation of a Space Test Course – a new means of evaluation for Space Force personnel and space-flight equipment.
The new course will deploy at the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. There, Space Force personnel – known as guardians – will receive 12 months of training, including formal instruction and practical experience. These efforts will focus on topics and systems deemed critical to the space domain and operations, including orbital mechanics, electromagnetic spectrum, sensor sciences, and more.
“Ensuring our Guardians can effectively test and validate space-flight equipment is crucial to mission success and protecting the space domain for the Joint Force,” Gen. David Thompson, Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations, said.
Thompson signed a memorandum of agreement alongside Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin and officially established the course on Feb. 23, 2023. It marked the conclusion of a multi-year effort at test and evaluation begun by the then-Air Force Space Command in 2018.
In contrast to the traditional Test Pilot School, the Space Test Course will focus on integrated testing, where principles of developmental testing will go hand-in-hand with operational testing. This focuses students on a system’s performance and usefulness in operational environments and integrates the development of new tactics and procedures related to them. As such, it will go beyond the present needs to incorporate potential concerns and future risks.