SoylentNews

U.S. Vice President Pence Details Plan to Establish a Space Force by 2020

posted by mrpg on Friday August 10 2018, @02:40AM   
from the U.S.-against-aliens-everywhere dept.

takyon writes:

Pence unveils plan to create Space Force by 2020

Vice President Mike Pence announced the Pentagon's detailed plan for President Donald Trump's vision of a Space Force on Thursday, which would establish the first military branch in over 70 years.

[...] Pence on Thursday stressed that the new branch would be built, in part, from pre-existing elements. "The Space Force will not be built from scratch," Pence said during a speech before members of the Pentagon. "This is a critical step toward's establishing the Space Force as the sixth branch of our armed forces."

Here are the four components to the Department of Defense establishing a Space Force:

First, DoD will establish a Space Development Agency to develop and field space capabilities at speed and scale. The Air Force has already begun to transform its Space and Missile Center (SMC). The Department will accelerate and extend this transformation to all services by creating a joint Space Development Agency.

Second, the Department will develop the Space Operations Force to support the Combatant Commands. These joint space warfighters will provide space expertise to combatant commanders and the Space Development Agency, and surge expertise in time of crisis to ensure that space capabilities are leveraged effectively in conflict.

Third, the Department will create the governance, services, and support functions of the Space Force. Many of these will require changes to U.S. law. The Department will build a legislative proposal for Congressional consideration as a part of the Fiscal Year 2020 budget cycle.

Fourth, the Department will create a U.S. Space Command, led by a four star general or flag officer, to lead the use of space assets in warfighting and accelerate integration of space capabilities into other warfighting forces. U.S. Space Command will be responsible for directing the employment of the Space Force.

Will Space Development Agency research trickle down to NASA?

Previously: The United States Space Corps Wants You...
Congressional Panel Puts Plans for a US Space Corps in 2018 Defense Budget
The Case for a U.S. Space Force
President Trump Orders the Creation of a United States Space Force

---

Original Submission

• what would it do? track satellites mostlywhat would it do? track satellites mostly (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Friday August 10 2018, @04:21AM (3 children)

  by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Friday August 10 2018, @04:21AM (#719787) Journal

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Space_Command [wikipedia.org]

  Spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases provide services, facilities and range safety control for the conduct of DOD, NASA and commercial launches. Through the command and control of all DOD satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects—continuous global coverage, low vulnerability and autonomous operations. Satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning. Ground-based radar and Defense Support Program satellites monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. Space surveillance radars provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world.

  General Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites.

  As of 2013, Air Force Space Command is considering Space Disaggregation, which would involve replacing a few large multimission satellites with larger numbers of smaller single purpose platforms. This could be used to defend against ASATs, by increasing the number of targets that needed to be attacked.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Force [wikipedia.org]

  Some opponents of the current proposal, such as former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, oppose an independent space arm, as they believe that a separate space service, which would be the smallest armed service ever created, would diminish the influence and budget of the new Space Force, and thus be detrimental to the development of military space operations. Rather, they support the reestablishment of a unified combatant command for space. Others, such as the Brookings Institution, are hesitant due to the close links between air and space operations, stating that it is unclear how separating the two will help achieve a more effective end state.

  --
  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+2
  Informative=2, Total=2
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		4

• Re:what would it do? track satellites mostlyRe:what would it do? track satellites mostly (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday August 10 2018, @08:21AM (1 child)

  by MostCynical (2589) on Friday August 10 2018, @08:21AM (#719837) Journal

  They separate nicely, at escape velocity*

  *YMMV, launch location, direction and weather may impede attempts to join "Space Force"

  --
  "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

  Parent

  • Re:what would it do? track satellites mostly(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Friday August 10 2018, @10:18AM

    by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Friday August 10 2018, @10:18AM (#719855)

    And of course, there is always the possibility of an unplanned, spontaneous disassembly event. Make sure your insurance is paid up!

    --
    Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.

    Parent

• Re:what would it do? track satellites mostly(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @02:38PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @02:38PM (#719926)

  "Re:what would it do?"

  Perpetrate kickback fraud.

  It will demand millions of dollars of shit nobody wants, be built by long established military contractors, who will funnel revenues from those projects back through PACs into political campaigns. But in the mean time, they will get in everybody elses business, make unjustified demands, and fuck everybody elses shit up.

  Parent