Patrick Space Force Base

Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation situated between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, Florida. It was originally established as Naval Air Station Banana River, a U.S. Navy airfield, and operated from 1940 to 1947. During World War II, it supported anti-submarine patrols, air search and rescue, and various training operations. The base was deactivated in 1947 and transferred to the U.S. Air Force in late 1948, briefly named Joint Long Range Proving Ground before becoming Patrick Air Force Base in 1950. In December 2020, it was renamed Patrick Space Force Base upon its transfer to the U.S. Space Force.

The base is home to Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45), which serves as the host wing and manages uncrewed rocket launches at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Eastern Range. Other tenant units include the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC), responsible for a global network of nuclear event detection sensors, and the 920th Rescue Wing, the installation's sole military flying unit. The 920th Rescue Wing, part of Air Force Reserve Command, operates HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft for combat search and rescue, civilian rescue operations, and support for NASA crewed spaceflight. The Florida Air National Guard's 114th Space Control Squadron is also based at Patrick SFB. The U.S. State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Air Wing also operates from the base. Total employment at the base is 10,400, with a resident population of 1,642 as of the 2020 census. The base features two runways: 03/21, measuring 2,744.1 meters (9,003 ft) with an Asphalt/Concrete surface, and 11/29, measuring 1,219.2 meters (4,000 ft) with an Asphalt surface.