Trump Orders Establishment of U.S. Space Command

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on Tuesday, December 18, ordered the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense, to establish a Space Command. The aim of this plan is to better organize and advance military operations in space, with an estimated cost of about $800 million over the next five years. Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, stated at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, "Today marks the beginning of a new era of American national security in space." The goal of this program is to create a new command to organize space operations, accelerate technological advancements, and find better ways to protect U.S. assets in space, including the numerous satellites used by the armed forces for navigation, communications, and surveillance. The establishment of the U.S. Space Command comes amid growing concerns about Russia and China's actions to disrupt, disable, and destroy U.S. satellites. The formation of this command is not directly related to another of the President's plans to create an independent military force called the "Space Force," but it is considered a first step in that direction. The statement issued by the government does not provide much detail on the complex and lengthy process of reorganizing the space units of various branches of the U.S. armed forces into a single organization. According to a U.S. government official, about 600 personnel from the space units of different military branches will be organized into a single structure, with another thousand personnel added in the coming years. A Pentagon spokesperson said that the establishment of the Space Command is "a very important step in strengthening space capabilities and defending U.S. national security interests and countering adversaries. This combat command will oversee space operations and the advancement of necessary tactics and technologies." He added that the Department of Defense will continue working on drafting legislation to implement the President's plan for creating a space military force. The next step will be to appoint commanders for this entity next year, including a four-star general and a deputy. The cost of this plan will be included in the fiscal year 2020 budget, with details to be announced in February 2019.