Five years ago, the space component at Exercise Cobra Gold amounted to just two personnel on a trestle table in the corner of a room.
This year, the 45th iteration of one of the world's biggest multinational exercises includes a space command of more than 50 personnel from eight nations, integrated into all aspects of warfighting drills.
US Army Pacific Command Space Operations chief Colonel Jeff Duplantis said they kept building through this exercise and others, such as Talisman Sabre, to hone fighting skills and leverage combined space capabilities.
He said space was about saving lives on the ground, and there would come a day when adversaries would attempt to target satellite communications and navigation, such as GPS.
ADF Joint Force Space Component at Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) Wing Commander Mark Wilson, acting as space plans chief for the exercise, said it was an exciting capability that was growing rapidly.
"Space enables most of the things we do out in the warfighting arena, whether it be satellite communications, missile warning, or GPS," Wing Commander Wilson said.
"Most things we do have a space element, and the biggest job we have is educating the rest of the components, the rest of the people, 'hey this is what space does and can offer you'."
'Space enables most of the things we do out in the warfighting arena.'
His role has taken him on a three-year deployment to the United States Air Force 2nd Space Warning Squadron in Colorado, and next month he will be posted to the Pentagon.
Wing Commander Wilson said the potential of the space domain was enormous and that, after more than a decade, he was still learning something new every day as technology evolved and Australia's capabilities grew.
But the domain remains a mystery to some.
As he walked towards the gates of Camp Red Horse military base in Thailand, a local contractor saw his arm patch.
"Space Command - does that mean you fight aliens?" the contractor asked.
"I was like 'yeah funny'. And they were like 'no, I'm serious, is that what you do?'," Wing Commander Wilson said.
"People don't understand what we do and it is hard to explain, but it's the new baby that is getting all the attention and all the money right now so it's the big growing arena that is also really interesting and cool."
Last month, the ADF offered direct entry recruitment for space operations officers and specialists.
