New Names for CCAFS and Patrick Air Force Base

The Trump Administration has renamed two legendary Air Force installations on Florida’s Space Coast to reflect their transition from the Air Force to the Space Force.

The National Space Council held its 8th meeting at Kennedy Space Center, FL today.  Chaired by Vice President Pence, the two-hour meeting recapped Trump Administration achievements in civil, commercial, and national security space. The highlights were release of a new National Space Policy and announcing a cadre of NASA astronauts who will be among the first assigned to return to the Moon and, perhaps, land there.

Prior to the meeting, Pence stopped by Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which is adjacent to KSC and operated by Patrick Air Force Base. At least those were their names before Pence arrived. His visit was to rename them as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base.

The renaming coincides with the first anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) on December 20, 2019 when President Trump signed into law the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  It established USSF as a sixth military service, joining the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

USSF is part of the Air Force just as the Marine Corps is part of the Navy, but it is keen to establish its own identity. Air Force installations that primarily support space activities are being renamed.

At the renaming ceremony and at the Space Council meeting, Pence paid tribute to legendary aviator Chuck Yeager, who passed away recently. He said the Trump Administration is looking to rename other Space Force installations in his honor.

We mark his passing this week, at 97 years of age, still with a sense of national loss.  And as I spoke to the President this morning about the dedication of these two installations, he directed me to begin immediately to identify future Space Force bases that can be renamed in the honor of the service and character and leadership of General Chuck Yeager, and so we will do.

America will never forget or fail to honor the pioneering spirit and the heroism of General Chuck Yeager.

He did not indicate which bases are under consideration.