Today in History – April 28, 1970 – F-4 Phantom II crew ejects at 36,000 ft, suffers minor injuries from hailstones

28 April 1970 – A USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II being ferried from Robins AFB, Georgia to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, was disabled by a severe thunderstorm, forcing the crew to eject at 36,000 feet 150 miles E of Charleston, South Carolina, suffering minor injuries from hail while descending. Pilot Capt. Daniel Heitz of

Today in History – September 1, 1952 – Air Force Space Command is formed

By MB Barrett

1 September 1952 – In 1982, Space Command was formed to centralize missile warning operations (formerly a Strategic Air Command responsibility) and space launch operations (formerly an Air Force Systems Command responsibility).

Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was a major command of the United States Air Force from September 1982 to December 2019. In 1985, Space Command was renamed Air Force Space Command (AFSPC).

On 20 December 2019, concurrent with the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020, it was re-designated as the United States Space Force and became a new sixth service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for space warfare.^[4]