Schriever AFB is one of the newest bases in Air Force service. It was opened as Falcon Air Force Station in 1983, housing the Air Force Satellite Control Network Center with an original mission of consolidating satellite operation of Air Force, Department of Defense and some non-DOD satellites. The 2nd Space Wing was activated in 1985 at Falcon AFS for the mission of managing the station, and the 2nd took operational control of the Air Force Satellite Control Network in 1987, a mission now performed by the 50th Space Wing.

In 1988 Falcon AFS was redesignated Falcon Air Force Base. In 1992 the 2nd Space Wing was redesignated the 50th Space Wing, the 50th Wing having a rich history as a tactical wing in various configurations, and the 2nd having none.

In 1998 Falcon AFB was renamed Schriever Air Force Base to honor General Bernard A. Schriever, "father of the USAF's space and missile program," a 35-year veteran who was instrumental in the development of US ballistic missile and satellite technology during the Cold War. General Schriever has the distinction of being the only USAF veteran alive at the time a base was named in his honor, the general having died in 2005, at the age of 94. The general's drive to develop unmanned ballistic missiles for US strategic defense was very much in the face of opposition by his own superiors, and was a testament to firm resolve in the face of institutional friction.