| Unit Name: | 5th Space Operations Squadron |
| Dates: | 1989 - 1992; 1993 - 2000 |
| Role: | Satellite Operations |
| Motto: | Scanning the Globe (1989-1994) Pioneers of Space (1994-present)[1] |
| Decorations: | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[2] |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 5th Space Operations Squadron emblem (approved 9 December 1994) |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | 5th Satellite Control Squadron emblem (approved 25 August 1989) |
The 5th Expeditionary Space Operations Squadron is an expeditionary satellite operations unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Space Command for activation or inactivation as required.
The 5th Expeditionary Space Operations Squadron (ESOPS), originally part of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, was provisionally established as Operating Location-A of the 750th Space Group on 1 October 1992. It was officially activated on 22 November 1993 under the 50th Operations Group. The formation followed the division of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility into the 2nd Space Test Group and the Consolidated Space Test Center (CSTC) on 1 October 1987, coinciding with the Air Force Space Command's acquisition of Onizuka Air Force Base (later Onizuka Air Station).
In the year it was established, the 5th ESOPS assumed the responsibilities of the 2nd Satellite Tracking Group Operations Division and the 1999th Communications Squadron Operations Division. Following the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Committee's directives, the 21st Space Operations Squadron (SOS) assumed the functions of the 750th Space Group, its subordinate units, and the 5th Space Operations Squadron.
Shortly after its establishment, the squadron undertook a number of operations, including the launch of a DSCS III and a NATO IV communications satellite, support for the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, and the deployment of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) for NASA missions. These missions encompassed the launch of all seven Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) and three interplanetary spacecraft: Galileo to Jupiter, Magellan to Venus, and Ulysses to the Sun.