U.S Pentagon to create a 'Space Force' as a new branch of the military

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President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is directing the Pentagon to a new 'Space Force' as an independent service branch aimed at ensuring American dominance in space.

Trump envisioned a bright future for the US space program, pledging to revive the country's flagging efforts, return to the moon and eventually send a manned mission that would reach Mars.

The president framed space as a national security issue, saying he does not want 'China and Russia and other countries leading us'.

Trump had previously suggested the possibility of creating a space unit that would include portions equivalent to parts of the Air Force, Army and Navy.
But his directive will task the Defense Department to begin the process of establishing the Space Force as the sixth branch of the US armed forces.
He said the new branch's creation will be overseen by Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

'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,' Trump said.
He added: '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. So important'
The United States, however, is a member of the Outer Space Treaty, which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and only allows for the use of the moon and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes.

'My administration is reclaiming America's heritage as the world's greatest spacefaring nation,' Trump said in the East Room, joined by members of his space council. 'The essence of the American character is to explore new horizons and to tame new frontiers.'



Trump also used the White House event to establish a new policy for reducing satellite clutter in space.
The policy calls for providing a safe and secure environment up in orbit, as satellite traffic increases.
It also sets up new guidelines for satellite design and operation, to avoid collisions and spacecraft breakups.
Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the recently revived space council, as well as several Cabinet members, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, retired astronauts and scientists.

The council's executive secretary, Scott Pace, told reporters before the meeting that space is becoming increasingly congested and current guidelines are inadequate to address the challenge.

The announcements were his administration's latest moves to scale up US space exploration.
The United States wants to send robotic explorers to the moon as soon as next year as a preparatory step towards sending astronauts back there for the first time since 1972, a NASA official said on Monday.



The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is planning a series of lunar missions beginning next year aimed at developing the capacity for a return to the moon, said Cheryl Warner, a spokeswoman for NASA's Human Exploration Directorate.

NASA will work with private companies, which have not yet been chosen, on the missions, Warner said in a phone interview.
In December, Trump signed a directive that he said would enable astronauts to return to the moon and eventually lead a mission to Mars. He ordered the government last month to review regulations on commercial space flights.

Americans first landed on the moon in 1969, reaching a goal set by former President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and capping a decade-long space race between Washington and Moscow.

Since then, U.S. efforts to explore beyond the Earth's orbit have largely focused on remote spacecraft that do not have human crew members, though American presidents have repeatedly raised the idea of sending human explorers back to the moon or further.
President George W. Bush in 2004 said humans would return to the moon by 2020. His successor, President Barack Obama, said in 2016 the United States would send humans to Mars by the 2030s.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ace-Force.html

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