Trump’s space army is for real, no Twitter jibe
washington — US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US ‘Space Force’, which would become the sixth branch of the American military but which requires Congressional approval to take effect.
“I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” Trump said. “We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal,” he added.
Details about the role and timing of any new space force were not immediately clear.
However, the creation of a new branch of the military cannot happen from one day to the next, as Congress would have to pass a law authorising it first.
Trump has previously supported the idea of creating a sixth branch of the armed forces, adding to the US Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard. —
washington — President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US “space force,” which he said would become the sixth branch of the American military.
“I’m hereby directing the DOD (Department of Defence) and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,” Trump said at the start of a meeting of the National Space Council.
“That’s a big statement. We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal.”
Trump said the United States will “be the leader by far” in space and looks to revive the nation’s flagging space program.
The president framed space as a national security issue, saying he
We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal. Donald Trump, US President
does not want “China and Russia and other countries leading us.”
Trump also vowed to soon return the United States to the moon and to reach Mars. Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and members of his space council.
The council’s executive secretary, Scott Pace, told reporters before the meeting that space is becoming increasingly congested and current guidelines are inadequate to address the challenge.
Meanwhile, the US wants to send robotic explorers to the moon as soon as next year as a preparatory step towards sending astronauts back there for the first time since 1972, a Nasa official said.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is planning a series of lunar missions beginning next year aimed at developing the capacity for a return to the moon, said Cheryl Warner, a spokeswoman for Nasa’s Human Exploration Directorate. Nasa will work with private companies, which have not yet been chosen, on the missions, Warner said in a phone interview.
Trump signed a directive that he said would enable astronauts to return to the moon and eventually lead a mission to Mars. Last month he ordered the government to review regulations on commercial space flights. — AFP, AP, Bloomberg