President Trump signed a new directive to establish the new U.S. Space Force as the sixth military branch within the Department of the Air Force. The fourth space policy directive published Tuesday says the secretary of the Department of Defense should submit to the Office of Management and Budget a legislative proposal creating the Space Force.
The new service branch will train and organize forces to facilitate freedom of operation in space, build up the joint force’s lethality and offer independent military options to national leadership. The new directive sets six priorities for the Space Force and one of those is protecting U.S. interests in space and peaceful use of space.
The space force should ensure unrestricted use of space for national security and economy, deter aggression and counter hostile activities in space, ensure the availability of needed space capabilities to combatant commands; project military power and develop and maintain a community of professionals in support of the space domain’s national security demands.
