US President Donald Trump announces 'Space Force' military wing

Deutsche Welle ^ | 06.18.2018 | es/aw (AP, AFP, Reuters)

[TigersEye]

“Ground control to Major Tom. ...”

[RinaseaofDs]

Sailors. I think they ought to make this entire mission the Navy’s job.

The ONLY change being made here is the medium you’re patrolling.

Even Star Trek extended the naval tradition metaphor. Using a type of bosun’s pipe, retaining the naval officer’s ranks, and even some of the rates (Yeoman).

Space and the Sea are frontiers. It’s a frontier force. The Navy’s already doing the mission.

[BBell]

The Air Force already has the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). Do we need another bureaucracy?

[PeterPrinciple]

Space Force

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You have to think about that a bit. Most politicians and bureaucracies would have created a multisyllable, word/acronym that didn’t put a pictures in your mind.

This is simple, I have a picture in my mind right now...…………………….

[DannyTN]

"the US is a signatory to 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 objects for peaceful purposes."

• Doesn't bar weapons if they aren't of mass destruction?
• weapons for destroying or downing space debris are for peaceful purposes. There is a point where enemy satelites are debris.

[BBell]

Resize image proportionally with CSS?

[RainMan]

Space Cadets are those who go to the Space Academy. Once they graduate they become Storm Troopers :p

[buckalfa]

"With no launch vehicle in our stable this really means very little"

You summed it up. Aside from possibly the X37B, America's manned space flight capability is nil at this point in history. I put little faith in Elon Musk or the possibility of a secret space fleet at Area 51. I also know FedGov is broke so a big manned program is unlikely. Then again a space force could be robotic.

[Magnum44]

Judging by the enthusiasm here, some folks might be disappointed when the see the new SPACE FORCE battleground:

This is not the creation of Buck Rogers. Its pulling all the space offices out of the current services and putting them under one roof, so to speak. Your average space force warrior will be either a program finance manager, PhD graduate in physics, or a lab tech in a bunny suit. Critical, but not sexy.

[NorthMountain]

Triplanetary Patrol comes first, I think ...

[miliantnutcase]

SpaceMarines!

[Intolerant in NJ]

Oh No!!!!! - Tom Corbett - Space Cadet!!!.....

[DariusBane]

Sailors and Marines.

[beergarden]

:) thanks

[Mi-kha-el]

Starship Troopers

[silent_jonny]

Starblazers!

[clamper1797]

Solar warden has been around for a while ... In my many years as an aerospace engineer I learned quite early on that when the government announced that they are considering doing something .... It’s already there

[RinaseaofDs]

Agree completely.

What’s funny about this - you could have a debate about whether a ‘space Marine’ is necessary, or possible.

Nobody thought you could fire accurately from the rigging of a ship. Then in WWI, nobody thought that these green ‘US Marines’ that Pershing was coming over with could hold their own, or fire accurately, in battle.

I’m probably wrong about Space and Marines and the relevance question. I suppose if we were going to send a party to a new planetoid, it may as well be Marines.

It’s just another beach, but the waves are electromagnetic, right?

[iowamark]

Another bureaucracy is the last thing we need.

[Olog-hai]

Well, I doubt that Trump is going to salvage the Yamato battleship and convert that to a US spacecraft.