The
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces or
VKO ( was a branch of the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsible for aerospace defence, and the operation of Russian military
satellites and the
Plesetsk Cosmodrome. It was established on the 1 December 2011 and replaced the
Russian Space Forces. The VKO was first commanded by former Space Forces commander
Colonel General Oleg Ostapenko, who was promoted to Deputy Minister of Defence in November 2012. On 24 December 2012,
Aleksandr Golovko was appointed the new commander. Although it is officially translated as
aerospace in English, it covers both attacks from the air and from (outer) space, and some Russian writers translate it as "air and space" instead.