President Donald Trump insists on the issue of having a military division focused on “defending space.”
And it is that after ordering a new military branch, canceling it and then confirming it again with a turn, now the president has just made an announcement by others strange, since he confirmed the return of the United States Space Command, a division that had disappeared in 2002.
And eye, do not confuse this Space Command with the new Space Force, which would be integrated into the Air Force, or with the Air Force Space Command, which focuses on the operations of the Air Force in space.
No, this Space Command is the one that was born in 1985, during the Cold War, with the objective of “taking care of the interests of the United States in space“.
Let’s order this to avoid confusion. In June 2018, the Trump administration ordered the creation of “immediately” a space army for the United States, which would be the sixth military branch of the country, and would be known as the United States Space Force.
It would be the first military branch in 70 years for the United States. However, this movement would require the approval of Congress, with its respective budget item, so in the end the government decided to back down the plan by not having the possibility of being approved.
In February of this year, the Trump administration presented a new proposal for the Space Force, but now as part of the Air Force, which means that it would not be a new independent branch and for that reason there would be no budget problems.
Right now the proposal is being analyzed by Congress, who will decide if there is a green light to start this new Space Force, now as part of the United States Air Force.
But apparently Trump can no longer wait for Congress, and today the same president along with Vice President Pence announced the revival of the Space Command, a division that has been out of service for 17 years.
This was announced by President Trump:
“The dangers for our country are constantly evolving, and we must too. Now, those who wish to harm the United States, who seek to challenge us in the last place in space, will face each other in a totally different game.”
The Space Command was established in 1985 by the United States Air Force , its objective was to coordinate missile defense and surveillance efforts, which were a latent threat during the Cold War.
Already in 2002, military objectives had changed and now focused on terrorism, so the Space Command disappeared to give life to the unified Strategic Command, which focused on the invasion of Afghanistan.
At the end of 2018 we had the first winks of a possible return of the Space Command, this after President Trump ordered the Pentagon to separate the Space Command from the Strategic Command and create a new independent entity for “space-related responsibilities.”
The idea was to have a division that took over the defense of American satellites, supported military troops from space and could plan “future space fighting.”
This is how this movement anticipates the decision of Congress to create the Space Force, since in case of a refusal, it will already have the Space Command that will allow it to coordinate missions and begin to have a military presence in space, something that Trump has I’ve been searching for over a year now.
Source: Xataka
