Space Force unveils ‘semper supra’ motto, delta logo

The U.S. Space Force’s official motto will be “semper supra,” the Latin for “always above,” the military service announced Wednesday.

The Space Force also unveiled Wednesday its official logo, a silver delta symbol with the Polaris star in the center, spires at the top representing a rocket launch and beveled elements on the edges to symbolize jointness with the other military branches.

“We are building a new Service to secure the space domain… the ultimate high ground,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond tweeted Wednesday. “Our strategic imperative is to ensure that our space capabilities & the advantages they provide the nation & our Joint and Coalition partners are always there. #SemperSupra!”

We are building a new Service to secure the space domain… the ultimate high ground. Our strategic imperative is to ensure that our space capabilities & the advantages they provide the nation & our Joint and Coalition partners are always there. #SemperSupra! https://t.co/5tIglNUAP1

— Gen. Jay Raymond (@SpaceForceCSO) July 22, 2020

‘Semper Supra’ (Always Above) is our official motto and it represents our role in establishing, maintaining, and preserving U.S. freedom of operations in the space domain. pic.twitter.com/S6cW3ZbHQR

— United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) July 22, 2020

Since the idea for Space Force was first pitched, there has been much speculation and interest in some of the lighter, cultural aspects of the service, such as the logo and motto, as well as what troops in the Space Force will be called and what its official song will be.

The Space Force’s Wednesday announcement comes after President Trump in January unveiled the service’s official seal, which has colloquially been referred to as the logo. The seal, which also centers on a delta symbol, was mocked by some online for resembling Star Trek’s Starfleet logo, though Space Force notes the U.S. military has used the delta in emblems for space organizations since 1961.

In May, Trump also unveiled the official flag, which included the seal, in an Oval Office ceremony.

The Space Force was officially created as the sixth branch of the military in December with Trump’s signing of the annual defense policy bill, and it has been building up since then.

Last week, the service announced it had chosen the first 2,410 airmen who will transfer into the Space Force starting Sept. 1.

Though about 16,000 military and civilian personnel from the former Air Force Space Command have been assigned to work for the Space Force, those service members are still formally part of the Air Force. 

Officially, the Space Force only has 88 sworn-in members: Raymond, senior enlisted adviser Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman and 86 Air Force Academy graduates who commissioned directly into the Space Force upon graduation in April.

The Space Force has been a top priority for Trump since he coined the name in 2018 and turned it into a reliable applause line at his campaign rallies. The idea for a separate military branch for space originated as a bipartisan House idea in 2017.

The new service is aimed at protecting U.S. assets in space, such as satellites, from threats from Russia and China.