Salute to Space
May 1, 2026
3:00 p.m. ET
AFA is proud to introduce "Salute to Space," the new annual tribute to American spacepower.
Join us for this year’s event, which will honor "the father of military space" General Bernard Schriever to remember his lasting impact on American spacepower. The ceremony will also include the first-ever "Schriever Charge," and the unveiling of a bronze General Schriever statue at AFA headquarters.
Featured Speakers
Brig. Gen. Christopher Fernengel
Director, Plans and Programs, U.S. Space Force
Gen. David “DT” Thompson, USSF (Ret.)
1st Vice Chief of Space Operations
How to Participate
We will be livestreaming the event right here on AFA.org and on AFA's YouTube channel, so that you, your chapter, or your organization can join us from anywhere in the world. The ceremony will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET and last for about an hour. Here's how you can participate during the livestream.
1. The Schriever Charge
When the U.S. Space Force was founded in 2019, America's first Guardians—led by the first Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond—raised a toast of Korbel champagne in small plastic cups.
Now that improvised toast will become an enduring tradition known as the "Schriever Charge," and will culminate each annual Salute to Space. We encourage all participants around the world to join us in raising a plastic cup of Korbel to Schriever's legacy, today's Guardians, and the future of Space.
2. Share Your Event
We want to document the breadth of this historic tradition. Take photos of you and your participants "Saluting Space" during the Schriever Charge, and share them with AFA using the link below.
Photo: CSO #1 Gen. John "Jay" Raymond prepares for a celebratory toast to the founding of the U.S. Space Force in 2019.
The Legacy of General Bernard Schriever
Gen. Bernard A. Schriever pioneered the development of America's ICBM program, and in 1955 he led Weapon System 117L, the groundwork of the Air Force's first space program.
Admired by influential figures like General Hap Arnold, Schriever's unconventional and uncompromising leadership in American spacepower ultimately helped win the race against the Soviet Union for missile supremacy.
Schriever passed away in 2005, but his lifetime of accomplishments and contributions set the foundation for a whole new military branch and generation of warfighters: the U.S. Space Force and its Guardians.