President Trump Tasks Pentagon to Create Military ‘Space Force’

President Donald Trump delivers opening remarks as Vice President Mike Pence looks on during a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 18, 2018, in Washington. Chaired by the Vice President, the council's role is to advise the President regarding national space policy and strategy, and review the nation's long-range goals for space activities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   18 June 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  President Donald Trump tasked the Pentagon with creating a military ‘Space Force’ as a ‘separate but equal branch’ of the nations armed forces as a means for ensuring American national security and American dominance in space during remarks at todays (June 18) meeting of the recently reconstituted National Space Council held at the White House.

“We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal. It is going to be something,” Trump said. “I’m here by directing the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big statement.”

“We must have American dominance in space.”

Trump made his remarks at the kickoff of the 3^rd meeting of the National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence.  

The National Space Council meeting was attended by the new NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine  and top US Government officials including Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chou among others.

“If you would carry that assignment out, I would be greatly honored,” Trump turned around and clearly said to Dunsford. “Got it?”

“We got it,” General Dunsford replied.

Apparently Trumps endorsement of the ‘Space Force’ came as something of a surprise to the Pentagon and others involved because the mode and scope of its creation was still being formulated at the highest levels of the US government.

The Air Force Space Command already exists as a significant entity within the U.S. Air Force branch of the military structure and the best means of reorganization was still being studied.  The creation of a ‘Space Corps’ had been under discussion.

The Pentagon for example did not have a statement ready to release to elaborate on and explain Trumps ‘Space Force’ directive in further detail. 

Furthermore, the US Congress must give its approval for the Space Force to come into force as the law of the land as well as to fund the President’s initiative.  

Space is unquestionably absolutely vital to US national defense and protecting the homeland from enemy surveillance and attack.  

Thus the U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, NRO, etc, design, manage, support and maintain a vast complex and massive variety of rockets and missiles, surveillance satellite, GPS satellites, weather satellites, research and development laboratories and military bases and more all across America and in a multitude of orbits.

“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. So important,” Trump elaborated.  

Some strong space supporters, such as Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D), who flew on NASA’s Space Shuttle, questioned the need for creating another bureaucracy.

"The president told a US general to create a new Space Force as 6th branch of military today, which generals tell me they don't want," Nelson tweeted. "Thankfully the president can't do it without Congress because now is NOT the time to rip the Air Force apart. Too many important missions at stake."

https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/status/1008772824054620163

At the meeting the President also signed his administration's third Space Policy Directive, SPD-3 dealing with managing the increasing number of satellites in orbit and the tens of thousands of particles of debris in space orbiting Earth and that are potentially harmful by colliding with satellites including our military assets and the International Space Station (ISS).

“NASA strongly supports the White House’s continued bold direction in forging a sustainable and focused space policy that strengthens American leadership. It was my honor today to represent the agency at the National Space Council, where the President announced Space Policy Directive-3 – which will guide critical and much-needed progress for space traffic management, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine 

“SPD-3 builds on our continued progress implementing SPD-1, which is galvanizing American space leadership by returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners, and SPD-2, which will create regulatory certainty for entrepreneurs to raise capital to grow the American economy in space.”

Trumps ‘space force’ comments today came amidst the swirling controversy of the immigration debate and family separation at the border which he specifically addressed in his initial remarks before pivoting to point of today’s meeting about the US Space program – civilian and military. 

Trump also spoke strongly about reclaiming American leadership in space and redirecting NASA to return Americans to the Moon’s surface first and soon, before venturing on to Mars.

“My administration is reclaiming America’s heritage as the world’s greatest space-faring nation. The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers,” Trump explained.

“I revived the National Space Council and put exactly the right man in charge, and that’s our friend, Mike Pence. He feels very strongly about this. And in December [2017], I signed a historic directive that will return Americans to the moon for the first time since 1972, if you can believe that.”

“We don’t want China and Russia and other countries leading us. We’ve always led -- we’ve gone way far afield for decades now, having to do with our subject today. We’re going to be the leader by far.”

“This time, we will do more than plant our flag and leave our footprints. We will establish a long-term presence, expand our economy, and build the foundation for the eventual mission to Mars -- which is actually going to happen very quickly,” Trump stated.

To that end NASA is developing the SLS heavy lift booster and Orion deep space capsule for journey's to the Moon and Mars and commercial crew vehicles to ferry our astronauts to LEO and the ISS.

More on that in my next story.

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com