'Semper Supra:' Space Force unveils official song for 'boldly reaching into space'

The U.S. military's newest branch now has its marching music.

The Space Force, which is not yet three years old, just unveiled its official song, a 40-second ditty called "Semper Supra" (Latin for "always above.") And it goes a little something like this:

"We're the mighty watchful eye / Guardians beyond the blue,

The invisible front line / Warfighters brave and true.

Boldly reaching into space / There's no limit to our sky.

Standing guard both night and day / We're the Space Force from on high."

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You can hear the words and music together in an Instagram post the Space Force made today (Sept. 20).

As those lyrics indicate, members of the Space Force are called "guardians," which cues the service up for "Guardians of the Galaxy" jokes. Every branch of the U.S. military has a specific name for its personnel; for example, those in the Army and Navy are called soldiers and sailors, respectively.

Each branch also has its own song. You may have heard "The Army Goes Rolling Along," which uses a melody written by march master John Philip Sousa.

The Space Force was officially established in December 2019, becoming the first new branch of the U.S. military since the Air Force began operations in 1947. The Space Force is part of the Air Force, much as the U.S. Marine Corps is part of the Navy.

The Space Force "is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives," the branch's mission statement reads. 

This is a broad and important purview, given that the United States owes much of its storied military prowess to its advanced space assets — the highly capable reconnaissance and communications satellites that allow warfighters to monitor and coordinate activities on the ground. Those assets are increasingly coming under threat from rival nations such as China and Russia, U.S. military officials have said.

"Semper Supra" was unveiled during the 2022 Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference, which runs from Monday through Wednesday (Sept. 19 to Sept. 21) in National Harbor, Maryland, the Space Force wrote in today's Instagram post.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.