Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was the major space command of the United States Air Force and the "de facto" space force of the United States Armed Forces from 1982 to 2019. Air Force Space Command was created on 1 September 1982 to unify the Air Force's space forces, which were organized under Air Force Systems Command, Aerospace Defense Command, and Strategic Air Command and is the direct predecessor to the United States Space Force, one of the six military services in the United States Armed Forces. Air Force Space Command was the first military space command in the U.S. Air Force, providing space forces for the 1983 United States invasion of Grenada, 1986 United States bombing of Libya, and 1989 United States invasion of Panama. The first major employment of space forces culminated in the Gulf War, where they proved so critical to the U.S.-led coalition, that it is sometimes referred to as the first space war.