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Space Government The Military United States

Trump Launches Space Command (cnn.com) 190

Posted by BeauHD from the space-defender dept.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday the official establishment of the U.S. military's Space Command. CNN reports: Space Command will become the 11th combatant command, joining the ranks of U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, and U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees Special Operations Forces. The command will initially consist of just 287 personnel and its final location has yet to be determined. Its responsibilities will be transferred primarily from U.S. Strategic Command. The command's establishment comes as the U.S. has grown increasingly concerned about threats to its satellites, which are critical to military operations and commercial business.

While the command's establishment has received broad support, Trump also spoke Thursday about the creation of a U.S. Space Force, a military branch his administration wants to see established under the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps sits under the Department of the Navy. Space Command "will soon be followed -- very importantly -- by the establishment of the United States Space Force as the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces," Trump said, adding that the Space Force will "organize, train and equip warriors to support Space Command's mission." NPR notes that the Space Command was first established by the Air Force in 1985.

"As the Cold War was heating up, it was meant to coordinate missile defense and surveillance efforts," reports Engadget. "But by 2002, military focus had shifted to terrorism, and Space Command was merged into the unified Strategic Command. It was refocussed to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan."
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Trump Launches Space Command More

Trump Launches Space Command

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  • I never thought I would say this.. but (Score:5, Funny)

    by cjeze ( 596987 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @02:06AM (#59139996)

    SPACE FORCE! pew pew pew laz0rz!

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Joce640k ( 829181 )

      Yep, that's exactly the thought that went through Trump's head when they sold him this boondoggle.

      I can picture them high-fiving each other as they drove away in a black SUV.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 )

        Yep, that's exactly the thought that went through Trump's head when they sold him this boondoggle.

        I can picture them high-fiving each other as they drove away in a black SUV.

        It was all about ego and legacy with him; just like the Mexican Wall, and, forget science, just put a man on Mars by the end of my second term order to NASA (assuming he is re-elected).

        He wanted his name associated with Space Force. We don't really have much justification for a force separate from the air-force, waste of extra personnel to do red tape stuff at the moment; but it boosted his ego to start a new force. Same thing drives all his decisions: ego.

        • Re:I never thought I would say this.. but (Score:5, Insightful)

          by guruevi ( 827432 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @08:01AM (#59140574)

          There was a time the US didn't have an "air force" and having an air force sounded ridiculous, why have an air force, we already have planes with the army.

          The space force idea isn't new, it's been floated by every president since the space race and the cold war, the air force reduced 'space' spending and focused on more planes. US military space spending has historically been essential for commerce, GPS, satellite communication and imaging is commercially lucrative but largely started, supported and protected by the Air Force.

          Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson has some really great reasoning on why a space force is important, I'd recommend listening to some of his interviews, books or podcasts on the issue.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by jythie ( 914043 )
            Even today it can be questioned why there is a seperate air force, esp since both the navy and army STILL have their own air fleets. So it isn't quite as simple as 'well today it seems obvious'. And we will probably end up with something similar with the space force, with each branch still maintaining its own orbital assets in addition to whatever this new branch manages.

          • There was a time the US didn't have an "air force" and having an air force sounded ridiculous, why have an air force, we already have planes with the army.

            The space force idea isn't new, it's been floated by every president since the space race and the cold war, the air force reduced 'space' spending and focused on more planes.

            Sure, there will eventually need to be a "space force"; there is a reason that other Presidents may have floated the idea and then abandoned the idea. Right now, it's not worth the red tape. A 200 man military branch, and half of those will probably be dedicated to dealing with the red tape of launching a military branch.

            One day, space will be more significant; right now it is just a vanity project. Other Presidents threw away the idea when they realized it was a waste of money. Trump sees it as another

            • Like returning to the moon, politicians won't do anything until they have to, which means a non-free nation like China or Russia goes there.

              The error some commentators are making is to portray the non-US countries as some hapless victims who have no choice but to respond to US aggression. Yet it is the exact opposite. The US maintains a Pax Americana on the high seas, a useful service in places like the middle east and asian Pacific.

              Dictatorships being there and controlling it is the problem free nations

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jythie ( 914043 )
          Which is why it would be such delicious irony if whoever is president next spends part of their time dismantling and erasing Trump's legacy.

      • Ground Control to Major Don

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Evtim ( 1022085 )

      Would you like to know more?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      To Insanity and Beyond!...

  • More like re-launches (Score:5, Informative)

    by johnsie ( 1158363 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @02:06AM (#59139998)
    There was a space command up until 2002. Bush decided to focus more on the threat from terrorists. In the meantime China, India and Russia now have the ability to shoot down satellites, with Brazil following closely. North Korea has a satellite and most Western European countries have the technical knowledge to develop space weapons if they ever wanted to.

    • In the meantime China, India and Russia now have the ability to shoot down satellites, with Brazil following closely. North Korea has a satellite and most Western European countries have the technical knowledge to develop space weapons if they ever wanted to.

      So you think there should be space fighters up there ready to intercept all the anti satellite missiles that no one is launching at them? Are they unprotected before space farce turns up?

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by johnsie ( 1158363 )
        No, however space based anti-missile may be useful as a deterrent. Just leaving the satellites open to attack is like running a network without a firewall.

    • and most Western European countries have the technical knowledge to develop space weapons if they ever wanted to.

      Nah... we're too busy trying to increase our ranking on world happiness [weforum.org], sorry you'll have to play the military pissing game without us.

  • I have an idea! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 30, 2019 @02:18AM (#59140016)

    Let's combine all the responsibilities of several government organizations involving space and make a single organization that can meet all of them better!

    Situation Before: There are 5 major government organizations with space as a focus.

    Situation Afterward: There are 6 major government organizations with space as a focus.

    The one founded by Donald Trump will become a single broom closet at NASA after Trump is gone.

    Then again - after Trump is gone, very few people will view Trump as positive in any way, except as a method by which they harmed others, knowing he was the worst person they could put in that position.

    • Re:I have an idea! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by gtall ( 79522 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @05:19AM (#59140276)

      Ah yes, but now la Presidente Tweetie can go to political rallies in the farm belt and tell farmers, "forget that I've just peed on your markets and you'll never get them back, look at the Trump Space Force, here to protect you against foreign workers who now won't be here to pay for your social security...we'll be whacking SS next."

    • Down on Earth's surface, each country claims certain 'area' as their's. Generally these areas are on and around the country and it's border.

      How are they going to do this in space? It's hardly possible for anyone to claim area in space, if only because of how constant (not to mention, fast) everything is moving.

      • Um, that's easy. Everything overhead is yours. Everything not overhead isn't. If you don't want other people having your stuff, make sure it doesn't go over their country.

        It's just like with clouds. When they rain on your country, you get to keep that rain. But when they move over other countries, they get to keep it. The only difference is that we make satellites and we don't make clouds.

        • Everything overhead is yours.

          They'd have to use balloons for this. What a space 'force' that'd be.

          The whole concept of "stationary" doesn't exist in space. Stuff moves FAST, or it "falls down".

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jythie ( 914043 )
        Simple, they will have fast moving spaces that they claim as their own, and if anyone gets within 100km of their little weaponized island they shoot you. Kinda like how the navy works today, with each ship being an exclusive 'get too close and we shoot you' piece of US territory regardless of who's water they are in.
    • Your analogy is incorrect.
      Before: you have one super large bureaucracy of nuclear weapons experts that has to manage all the space assets plus nuclear weapons while the intelligence services (NRO) does their own thing
      Afterward: There is one smaller team of pure space experts focused on managing all military and intelligence space assets under a unified command

      This is actually a good idea that has a lot of support from former Obama administration officials.

  • With what? A russian Rocket? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Qbertino ( 265505 ) <moiraNO@SPAMmodparlor.com> on Friday August 30, 2019 @02:24AM (#59140018)

    *badabing* *badabum*

  • Here's hoping that the USA will always be the good guys in any such conflict. I, for one, have total confidence in our new orange overlord.
  • It should be called Starfleet and it should be under the Navy.
  • Trump Launches Space Command ... thousands of space cadets already in training, the force motto announced by the White House will be: MAGA!! MAGA!! LOCK HER UP!!! HAIL THE SECOND COMING OF GOD!!!!

  • Outer Space Treaty (Score:4, Informative)

    by DrTJ ( 4014489 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @03:19AM (#59140110)

    Does this not violate the 1967 "Outer Space Treaty" that emphasizes peaceful co-existence in outer space, signed by the US and other nations?

    No, it does not. To quote Wikipedia: "The Outer Space Treaty does not ban military activities within space, military space forces, or the weaponization of space, with the exception of the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space."

  • launch code? (Score:2, Funny)

    by cas2000 ( 148703 )

    Did he say "Thunderbirds are GO!" or is that too foreign for him?

    • Re:launch code? (Score:5, Funny)

      by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @03:59AM (#59140168)

      Did he say "Thunderbirds are GO!" or is that too foreign for him?

      It's really too bad that Gerry Anderson [wikipedia.org] is dead.

      Imagine if the US would have hired him to design the Space Force vehicles!

      . . . and also the uniforms for the female staff. Google on "Gerry Anderson UFO purple hair". Tinfoil catsuits and purple hair!

      Oh and:

      Space Command will become the 11th combatant command

      Most Combatant Commands only go up to 10. But this one goes up to 11!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        . . . and also the uniforms for the female staff. Google on "Gerry Anderson UFO purple hair". Tinfoil catsuits and purple hair!

        The submarine "uniforms" were even more ridiculous. The guys wore string vests with nothing underneath... And so did the women. I'm kind of amazed they got away with it on TV in the late 60s, or maybe it wasn't so obvious until they re-released it in HD.

        Apparently Sylvia, his wife, did the costumes and was convinced that within a decade wigs would be a standard part of military uniforms. Weirdly though only the Moon base staff had them, the submarine crews didn't.

        • wigs would be a standard part of military uniforms

          Old news. Really old. Check out the absolutely EPIC afros on these guys [wikipedia.org]! This signals extreme manly virility and instills terror in any potential foes. Plus wearing the pelt of such a fearsome animal as a bear on your head clearly notifies the world that you are a fierce warrior.

        • First, in the 1960s , especially in Britain, people weren't as uptight as they are now. Second, the whole wigs as part of military uniforms seems odd - but since the idea of a uniform is to make people , well, uniform it doesn't surprise me you'd do it for women. Youd' think the guys would all be shaving their heads though. It was obvious, even in the late 1960s on TV, trust me. The Andersons were brilliant people. Space:1999 for all its hokey science had some mind bending plots in its first season, as
      • Moonbase, to Shado Control! Actually the REAL SHADO is probably under Google headquarters in California.

  • We cannot afford to let any of those OTHER nations have DANGEROUS, SPY SATELLITES up there!

    So we will blow them up, and destroy our own satellites in the process with all the debris, and ensure nobody can launch any new ones for centuries to come!

    GO TRUMP 2020!

  • Ever since the "Space Force" was mentioned by Trump a year or so ago, inquiring minds spent sleepless nights asking the most pressing question of the day--will the military ranks in Space Force be those like the Army and Air Force, or like the Navy similar to the fictional Starfleet of the Trek universe. It appears that question has been answered. Since the Space Force would be under the auspices of the Air Force, it's likely that they will use that rank and insignia over the vastly preferred Starfleet-styl

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by chthon ( 580889 )

      Colonel Kirk? Sounds like the dictator of a banana republic.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

        Colonel Kirk? Sounds like the dictator of a banana republic.

        Or at very least the deranged leader of a cannibalistic tribe of natives far up some jungle river.

    • Trump is involved. Did you really think you would get a Captain Kirk over a Colonel Klink?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )

      Actually, it's not necessarily true that ranks will follow the Air Force.
      The USMC is part of the Navy and it follows Army/Air Force ranks (with colonels and generals and such) instead of Navy ranks (with captains and admirals and such)

  • "What kind of Wandervogel idiocy is it to run around all night in a marsh calling yourselves the Society for Space Navigation?" - Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow"

  • Everyone is putting their... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Chris Katko ( 2923353 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @04:21AM (#59140208)

    ...'witty' Trump jokes out there. Notice how nobody is actually discussing merits of the actual action.

    The reality is, a space military department is WAY overdue because China and Russia ALREADY HAVE THEM. Simply pretending the world is how we *wish* it was, won't stop their weapons research. Just because we want space to be some magical gravity-free version of the Olympics doesn't mean other countries see it that way.

    Neil Degrasse Tyson himself has defended it saying, "Just because it came out of Trump's mouth doesn't automatically make it a crazy thing."

    https://www.rollingstone.com/t... [rollingstone.com]

    You want something horrifying? Look into China (and Russia's) hypersonic missile projects. Missiles that travel so fast they _cannot_ be intercepted by physical means, and are quote, "starting a new arms race." You think nukes are bad? Imagine a nuke that can fly from China to anywhere in the world "in under an hour" and gives less than "3 minutes for a defense system to detect, identify, and respond."

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/0... [nytimes.com]

    And that's just the weapon systems we KNOW the world is developing. We also KNOW that since 2007, China and Russia have been deploying "anti-satellite" missile systems.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      Errrm...we already have a Space Force, it's called the Air Force, shorten it to The Force if you like. This is just another layer of bureaucratic stink sap.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bgarcia ( 33222 )

        Errrm...we already have a Space Force, it's called the Air Force, shorten it to The Force if you like. This is just another layer of bureaucratic stink sap.

        And in 1946, we already had an air force. It was called the U.S. Army Air Forces. Then somebody decided that it should be a new branch of the military.

        At some point, it becomes important enough that you want a bunch of people concentrating and specializing in that field.

        • And in 1946, we already had an air force. It was called the U.S. Army Air Forces.

          Actually you were late to the party on that one. Most other nations sperated their air forces out of the other services prior to WW2. The Brithos RAF was made independent in 1918 before the end of WW1.

          However the collorary to your argument is that we never separated out the submarine service from the navy.

          Besides the US already separated the "space force" from the USAF in 1958... We called it NASA and it was a civilian administration... One that Trump refunded.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jythie ( 914043 )
          On the other hand, just because splits have been done in the past does not necessarily mean they should be done in the future, esp as we look at what a complex bureaucratic and uncommunicative mess the current 5 branches have become. This might even make things worse since now you will have yet ANOTHER parallel command structure that will have difficulty interacting with the other command structures. So more turf wars, more confusion, more duplication of effort since each branch wants assets that are tail
      • "The emperor will show you the true nature of the Force." ---Darth Vader

      • I wonder how many projects were shelved because the priorities of the Air Force was to push the F-35. Personally, I would like the government having a dedicated budget and chain of command for space for the military. I would like them to develop emergency plans and action. A big rock hurling itself towards the Earth is a matter of national security that I would hope the military has some kind of idea of what they would do and have the budget to further develop those responses.

        Congress: Wat do you need AF?
        AF

      • Two things - this is not a Space Force, it's a combatant command that manages all space assets. The services still own their individual space assets. Two, we currently have at least four different space forces: Air Force, Navy, Army, and the NRO, so this move helps bring all of those forces under a focused, unified command.
    • Very few Trump detractors are saying it's a bad thing to have a presence in space. Just that it's a dumb name, from the imagination of a child-emperor.

    • The US already had this (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sjbe ( 173966 ) on Friday August 30, 2019 @08:20AM (#59140632)

      The reality is, a space military department is WAY overdue because China and Russia ALREADY HAVE THEM.

      The US has had one since 1982. It's called the Air Force Space Command [wikipedia.org] and it is the primary arm of the US military responsible for space operations. It employs approximately 38,000 people.

      Just because we want space to be some magical gravity-free version of the Olympics doesn't mean other countries see it that way.

      Don't be so naive. The US military has been the primary driver for the majority of space technology and research since the start of the space age. It has NEVER been some peaceful endeavor. The entire reason we went to the moon was a cold war pissing contest with Russia to ensure that the US didn't give up the high ground of space.

      Neil Degrasse Tyson himself has defended it saying, "Just because it came out of Trump's mouth doesn't automatically make it a crazy thing."

      Mr Tyson is correct about that. HOWEVER the evidence clearly shows that Trump saying it strongly increases the probability of it being crazy and/or false.

      You want something horrifying? Look into China (and Russia's) hypersonic missile projects. Missiles that travel so fast they _cannot_ be intercepted by physical means, and are quote, "starting a new arms race."

      You think the US isn't also working on this stuff [cnbc.com]?

      Imagine a nuke that can fly from China to anywhere in the world "in under an hour" and gives less than "3 minutes for a defense system to detect, identify, and respond."

      Umm, ICBMs have been able to hit any location on the planet in 30-40 minutes since the 1960s. This is nothing new. Hyper-sonic cruise missiles are problems for large boats like aircraft carriers but we've had ballistic missiles that cannot be well defended against for decades that travel MUCH faster.

  • Trumperbirds are GO!

  • The command will initially consist of just 287 personnel and its final location has yet to be determined.

    How about ...... in space?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jythie ( 914043 )
      Heh, probably working out of buildings they already have, but a whole new level of bureaucracy and management. That is probably where a lot of the new spending will go, people looking for career advancement in other services and the many new mid level manager positions that are about to open up.

  • Co-ed showers FTW!

  • Wait, did someone discover oil in space?

    • Yes, it's called orbiting solar power stations that bean power back to earth by microwave. Mr. O'Neill discussed this in the early 1970s, I vaguely remember reading a book where it was discussed.
  • Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Xur and the Ko-dan Armada.

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