Here, NASA launches satellites into orbit. A Space Force would be tasked with protecting U.S. satellites.

NASA/Jerry Cannon

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Space Force Blasts Off? 

President Donald Trump wants to create another branch of the U.S. armed forces—and send it into orbit. What would a Space Force do?

The United States armed forces protect the country on the ground, at sea, and in the air. Now President Donald Trump wants to add space to that list of places.

Trump recently instructed the Department of Defense to look into the possibility of a Space Force to promote “American dominance in space.” If such a force is approved, it will join the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard as the sixth branch of the U.S. military.

Here is a quick look at what we know about a potential United States Space Force.

Q: Why might the U.S. need a Space Force?

A: In short, say experts, to protect our satellites—spacecraft that have been launched into Earth’s orbit to collect and transmit data. “If a country wants to fight the United States, one of the first things it will want to do is disrupt or destroy our satellites,” says Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Satellites allow our bombs and missiles to hit targets accurately [as well as] send information to our military forces around the world.”

Russia and China, which have the ability to destroy satellites or jam their signals, pose the biggest worries to the Pentagon, Harrison says. 

Right now, protecting satellites is mainly the U.S. Air Force’s job. Critics of a Space Force say creating a new armed services branch would take crucial funds from the Air Force. They also fear it would add another layer of bureaucracy to the military. But supporters of a Space Force say the Air Force isn’t focusing enough on space.

Harrison notes that other functions of space security are now divided among different armed forces. He says, “A Space Force would integrate all of them into one chain of command.” 

Q: What would a Space Force be like?

A: You might picture astronauts armed with lightsabers or battling spaceships. Not so, says Harrison: “The people protecting our satellites would be working on the ground.” They would be in mission control centers and labs, as drone pilots are now.

At least at first. “If we establish a base on the moon, the Space Force would probably station a few space cadets there,” says Howard McCurdy, a professor at American University in Washington, D.C. 

Still, it’s unlikely that a Space Force would be traveling farther into our solar system anytime soon, Harrison believes: “That’s still science fiction at this point.”

Slideshow

Q: Does the military have a presence in space now?

A: “The military has been in space from the beginning of space exploration,” says professor Michael Dodge of the University of North Dakota. Historians often set that beginning as October 1957. That is when the Soviet Union, America’s Communist rival during the Cold War (1947-1991), launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. The move sparked a contest to dominate the cosmos known as the space race.

In 1958, the U.S. answered with its own satellite. That same year, it created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While NASA’s mission is primarily peaceful exploration, the U.S. military has used the space program to conduct defense research and spy on other countries. According to Harrison, the militaries of Russia and China have even larger roles in the space programs of those countries. 

803
The number of working American satellites now orbiting Earth 

SOURCE: Union of Concerned Scientists

Q: Are there any laws that regulate space?

A: Several international laws and treaties control the use of space. The most important, experts say, is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which the U.S., Russia, China, and other nations have agreed to.

The treaty states that all countries are free to access space for peaceful purposes. It doesn’t ban all military uses of space, but does set limits on them. “A Space Force would not be able to place weapons of mass destruction in orbit, for instance, or build military fortifications on Mars,” says Dodge. 

107 nations have formally recognized the Outer Space Treaty

SOURCE: United Nations

Q: How would a Space Force be created? 

A: Only Congress can establish a new branch of the military. The last time that happened was in 1947, when an independent Air Force was split off from the Army.

Until recently, many key military officials had resisted the creation of a separate Space Force. That appears to be changing, however. This past August, the Pentagon gave Congress the outline of a plan that would first create a U.S. Space “Command”—meaning a fighting force dedicated to outer space. Experts say that such a unit would probably remain within the Air Force for the time being. It would then gradually lead to an independent Space Force. 

Harrison believes that’s what the Pentagon is “building the foundations” for. Right now, Congress is divided over creating the separate force. “But I think the odds are good it will eventually happen,” he says.

Whatever the case, says McCurdy, the U.S. is clearly looking to the future: “Outer space is as natural a realm of national ambition as the air.”

Write About It! How necessary is a Space Force? What might be its benefits—and its downsides?

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