US announces new military wing
PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced on Monday he was directing the Pentagon to create a new “Space Force” as an independent military service branch aimed at ensuring American supremacy in space – though he may have limited power to develop a new military command.
While Trump has previously talked about his desire for a space unit, he seemed to take those musings one step further, specifically ordering the Pentagon to begin the creation of a sixth branch of the American armed forces.
“When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space,” Trump said. “We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal.”
Turning to seek out Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump said, “General Dunford, if you would carry that assignment out, I would be very greatly honoured also… Where’s General Dunford? General? Got it?”
Dunford appeared to acknowledge the order, responding, “we got it”. But the directive seemed to take defence officials by surprise. Creating a new joint military command is largely the purview of Congress, which would have to provide the authority and any funding or shifting of money to a new unit.
Implications
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said the department understands the president’s guidance, and is working on the matter while taking into consideration the implications for intelligence operations for the other services. “Working with Congress, this will be a deliberate process with a great deal of input from multiple stakeholders,” she said.
A senior congressional aide said Trump’s order was consistent with efforts by members of Congress over the past two years to find a way to dedicate additional resources to the country’s war-fighting in space. But the issue has been contested, and even Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed reluctance to creating a new military service, citing the expense and broader effort to integrate war-fighting.
The Defence Department is in the middle of a congressionally-mandated review of the space force issue. The study began in March, with an in- terim review due in August and a final report on December 31. It’s not clear if the president’s comments were meant to override or influence that study.
Decades ago, the military deemed space a critical war-fighting domain, creating the Colorado-based Air Force Space Command in 1982. It includes more than 36 000 personnel around the world that provide space and cyber capabilities for the Defence Department. And the Space and Missile Systems Centre at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California, designs and buys most of the Pentagon’s space systems, while overseeing satellite and other aircraft launches.
In addition, a number of federal defence agencies control portions of the space programme, including Nasa and the National Reconnaissance Office, which develops and operates surveillance spacecraft and satellites for intelligence gathering.
In a March document outlining the review, the Pentagon said it had made organisational changes to beef up the stature of the space force, but was reviewing others.
The document sent to Congress said the review would look at research, capabilities, acquisition and joint war-fighting needs, and assess “whether the Space Corps concept should be implemented.”
The establishment of an independent space force was mentioned by Trump in a March speech to service members in California, but it has faced opposition since it could create an expensive new headquarters bureaucracy and trigger complex and divisive battles between the agencies that currently control part of the space mission.
So far, the Pentagon doesn’t have any cost estimates for the development of a new command, or any description of how it would be set up or its impact on other defence and intelligence agencies.
Ever since the Space Age started with the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, there has been a military and national security aspect to space, even though there are treaties and a UN committee that explicitly talk about keeping space a place of peace. In the 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower established two separate space programmes – a civilian one that became Nasa, and a military one.
Trump more broadly envisioned a bright future for the US space programme, pledging to revive the country’s flagging efforts, return to the moon and eventually send a human mission that would reach Mars.
He framed space as a national security issue, saying he does not want “China and Russia and other countries leading us”. While the US has dominated in space since the 1969 moon landing, China is making strong headway, while Russia is in decline.
“My administration is reclaiming America’s heritage as the world’s greatest spacefaring nation,” he said in the East Room, joined by members of his space council. “The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers.”
The president also used the White House event to establish a new policy for reducing satellite clutter in space. The policy calls for providing a safe and secure environment up in orbit, as satellite traffic increases. It also sets up new guidelines for satellite design and operation, to avoid collisions and spacecraft breakups.
Congested
The council’s executive secretary, Scott Pace, said before the meeting space was becoming increasingly congested and current guidelines were inadequate to address the challenge.
Trump also encouraged SpaceX, Blue Origin and other non-traditional aerospace companies led by wealthy US entrepreneurs to beat Nasa to Mars.
“Just go ahead, if you beat us to Mars, we’ll be very happy, and you’ll be even more famous. As long as it’s an American rich person, that’s good, okay? They can beat us. We’ll save a little money, and they can beat us, and we’re taking full credit for it, don’t worry about it.” – Associated Press/African News Agency (ANA)