Air Force Space Command

Virginia’s Wallops Island Spaceport Seeks to Increase Launch Activity

June 28, 2021
ExoNews Editor

Article by Jeff Foust June 13, 2021 (spacenews.com)

• When the chief executive of the of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority which operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island on the Virginia Coast, Dale Nash, decided to retire, the authority convened a search committee to select Nash’s successor. On June 10th, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and the chairman of the board of the authority Jeff Bingham announced that Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer Jr., a retired Air Force major general, will be the next chief executive and executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority starting August 1st.

• In his 32 years in the Air Force, Mercer held a variety of space-related roles including commanding the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base and serving as deputy director of operations for Air Force Space Command. Mercer retired from the Air Force in 2008. Mercer has since served as director of the Interagency Program Office for the Federal Aviation Administration’s ‘NextGen’ program to modernize management of the national airspace system.

• Northam said of Mercer: “Under his leadership, Virginia is poised to maximize the investments we have made in our world-class spaceport and launch into the future as a leader in space exploration, research and commerce.” Indeed, Mercer said that growing the spaceport’s launch business was second only to looking out for the needs of spaceport personnel. Mercer plans to “get aggressive” about bringing more customers to the MARS spaceport.

• The two existing MARS launchpads currently accommodate Northrop Grumman’s two Antares launches a year sending Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, and occasional launches of Minotaur rockets for various government missions.

• But another player has recently begun to operate at Wallops Island – Rocket Lab. The company built a launchpad for its Electron rocket, and in March, it announced it would launch its new medium-class Neutron rocket from Wallops as well. Getting both Electron and Neutron flying regularly from MARS could dramatically increase launch activity. Electron is designed to launch as frequently as once a month, while Neutron may launch six to eight times a year. “Between the Northrop Grumman launches and the Rocket Lab launches, we could be easily doing 20, 25 launches a year within a couple of years,” Nash predicted.

• Certification of an autonomous flight termination system required by NASA will delay the Electron, however. The first Electron launch from Wallops, originally scheduled for 2020, could slip to as late as November.

• Mercer wants to attract additional launch companies to Wallops. “The opportunity to grow in the next one to five years is extraordinary,” he said, citing interest in small satellites from both companies and government organizations like the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency. “I want MARS to be the place of choice for some of these companies that want to get their satellites into orbit.”

• MARS will have to complete with other spaceports for that launch business, in particular Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center. Mercer suggested he would be open to building additional launch infrastructure at MARS if there is demand for it. Nash said NASA’s master plan for Wallops includes the ability to add two or three more launchpads, which could potentially accommodate larger launch vehicles than Antares and Neutron. The state of Virginia has more than $250 million in building the Wallops Island facility.

• But Mercer noted that there are limits to how large MARS could grow. “Will we ever become a Cape Canaveral? Probably not because of limits on the infrastructure that can be built there. …[B]ut we want to expand as much as we can… That will allow more customers to come to this range.”

WASHINGTON — The new head of Virginia’s commercial spaceport on Wallops Island says he wants to increase launch activity at the site, while acknowledging that there are limits as to how big it can grow.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced June 10 that Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer Jr., a retired Air Force major general, will be the next chief executive and executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island. Mercer will

**MARS launch facility on Wallops Island**

take over Aug. 1 when the current head of the authority, Dale Nash, retires.

“Under his leadership, Virginia is poised to maximize the investments we have made

in our world-class spaceport and launch into the future as a leader in space exploration, research and commerce,” Northam said of Mercer in a statement.

Mercer held a variety of space-related roles in his 32 years in the Air Force, including commanding the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base and serving as deputy director of operations for Air Force Space Command. Mercer retired from the Air Force in 2008 and, in

2016, became director of the Interagency Program Office for the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen program to modernize management of the national airspace system.

The authority convened a search committee to select Nash’s successor, which led them to Mercer. “This committee has unanimously selected the best candidate possible to take the helm of Virginia Space,” Jeff Bingham, chairman of the board of the authority, said in a briefing. “Our new CEO and executive director is uniquely qualified to ensure that we deliver on our objectives and work to become increasing active and competitive over the next decade.”

MARS hosts only a few orbital launches a year currently. Northrop Grumman conducts an average of two Antares launches a year from Pad 0-A, sending Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. Neighboring Pad 0-B hosts occasional launches of Northrop Grumman Minotaur rockets, including a Minotaur 1 launch of a National Reconnaissance Office mission scheduled for June 15.

Mercer said at the briefing that growing the spaceport’s launch business was a top priority, second only to looking out for the needs of spaceport personnel. “One of the cleanest ways we can begin to grow this business, without doing much in terms of infrastructure, is simply get aggressive about getting out and bringing more customers to our launch port and to our range,” he said.

A big factor in the future of MARS is Rocket Lab. The company built Launch Complex 2, a launchpad for its Electron rocket, next to Pad 0-A. In March, it announced it would launch its new medium-class Neutron rocket from Wallops, using the existing Pad 0-A. That rocket will also be manufactured at a facility to be built nearby.

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Mark Hamill and James Gunn Band Together to ‘Sue’ Space Force

January 2, 2021
ExoNews Editor

Article by Rebekah Barton December 26, 2020 (insidethemagic.net)

• On December 18th at a White house event, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Space Force personnel would be called ‘Guardians’. The military branch already uses a symbol that looks a lot like the Star Trek logo. This caused an immediate backlash from Hollywood heavyweights such as James Gunn, the director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Gunn posted on Twitter: “Can we sue this dork?”

• Another Hollywood hero, Mark Hamill (Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker… pictured above) replied to Gunn’s tweet: “So they grab the “Guardians” from your movies, they use the “Force” from our movies… then they have the gall to just steal their logo from “Star Trek”? Let’s file a 3-way joint lawsuit & really nail these larcenous bastards! #MayTheDorksBeWithYou”

• Hamill’s response was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the ironic nature of the situation is apparent: the logo really does look like Star Trek’s, the moniker obviously aligns with the Marvel movies Gunn directs, and the entire operation is being referred to as a “Force” — not ‘the Force’, but the point stands. The US Space Force responded with another tweet: “The opportunity to name a force is a momentous responsibility. Guardians is a name with a long history in space operations, tracing back to the original command motto of Air Force Space Command in 1983, ‘Guardians of the High Frontier’.”

• Hamill and Gunn are both very active on social media and their followers were quick to respond to their tweets about the US Space Force’s new name. Ian McAdam tweeted: “Would love to see a Disney versus American government lawyer battle.” MightyMary007 posted: “Disney is highly litigious from what I understand, so you’re already well-positioned to do so.” But most fans are still dumbstruck by Hamill’s incredible cameo in The Mandalorian Season 2 finale in which Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker to rescue Grogu (ie: ‘baby Yoda’) with the help of de-aging CGI technology.

• No matter what your thoughts are about the United States Space Force ‘Guardians’ title, the social media exchange between two of fandom’s most famous names is hilarious. As of yet, Spock has not weighed in on the situation — we’ll keep you posted. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently in the works for 2023.

**Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars**

If you’ve ever wanted to see a Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover, look no further than…

Twitter?

You read that right. Two of the respective Walt Disney Company franchises’ big guns — Mark Hamill and James Gunn — have taken to social media for an unlikely (and hilarious) reason.

When current United States Vice President Mike Pence announced that the uniformed members of the U.S. Space Force will be referred to as Guardians — with a symbol that looks very much like the Star Trek logo — Gunn almost immediately posted, “Can we sue this dork?,” obviously referring to the fact that the name “Guardians” clearly resembles Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

**Space Force’s logo, and Star Trek’s logo**

Hamill wasted no time replying to Gunn’s Tweet, writing back: “So they grab the “Guardians” from your

movies, they use the “Force” from our movies… then they have the gall to just steal their logo from “Star Trek”? Let’s file a 3-way joint lawsuit & really nail these larcenous bastards! #MayTheDorksBeWithYou”

Hamill’s response was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but the ironic nature of the situation is certainly apparent: the logo really does look like Star Trek’s, the name obviously aligns with the Marvel movies Gunn directs — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently in the works, likely for 2023 — and the entire operation is being referred to as a “force” — not the Force, but the point stands.

The U.S. Space Force’s official Tweet about their unintentionally amusing moniker reads:

The opportunity to name a force is a momentous responsibility. Guardians is a name with a long history in space operations, tracing back to the original command motto of Air Force Space Command in 1983, “Guardians of the High Frontier.”

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Space Force Details Structure of New Service

July 12, 2020
ExoNews Editor

Article by Christen McCurdy June 30, 2020 (upi.com)

• Since the military branch’s inception in December 2019, more than 16,000 military members and civilians have been assigned to the Space Force, including over 8,500 active-duty members of the Air Force who have volunteered for Space Force. Said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, “This is the most significant restructuring of space units undertaken by the United States since the establishment of Air Force Space Command in 1982,”

• General Jay Raymond, USSF Chief of Space Operations said in a June 30th press release, “This is an historic opportunity to launch the Space Force on the right trajectory to deliver the capabilities needed to ensure freedom of movement and deter aggression in, from and to space. How we organize the Space Force will have a lasting impact on our ability to respond with speed and agility to emerging threats in support of the National Defense Strategy and Space Strategy.”

• Under the new organizational structure, Space Force will be comprised of three field commands: the Space Operations Command (aka ‘SpOC’); Space Systems Command (aka ‘SSC’); and Space Training and Readiness Command (aka ‘STARCOM’).

• Space Operations Command is the “field command” comprised of commands, deltas and squadrons. The field organization would “consolidate and align all organize, train and equip mission execution” from space-related units formerly run by the Air Force. It will be headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.

• Space Systems Command will be responsible for launch, developmental testing, on-orbit checkout and maintenance of USSF systems. It will also be responsible for developing and acquiring lethal space capabilities for warfighters.

• Space Training and Readiness Command will train and educate space professionals and develop combat-ready troops to address the challenges of combat in space.

• “Innovation and efficiency are driving our mission as we position the Space Force to respond with agility to protect our nation’s space capabilities and the American way of life,” said Barrett.

June 30 (UPI) — The Space Force will be comprised of three field commands, with many of the Air Force’s existing space acquisition organizations being moved into a newly created Space Systems Command, the service announced on Tuesday.

**Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett**

USSF officials said the field organization would “consolidate and align all organize, train and equip mission execution” from space-related units formerly run by the Air Force.

“This is an historic opportunity to launch the Space Force on the right trajectory to deliver the capabilities needed to ensure freedom of movement and deter aggression in, from and to space,” Gen. Jay Raymond, USSF chief of space operations, said in a press release. “How we organize the Space Force will have a lasting impact on our ability to respond with speed and agility to emerging threats in support of the National Defense Strategy and Space Strategy.”

The USSF field echelons will be called, in order of hierarchy, field commands, deltas and squadrons.

The service’s field commands will be called Space Operations Command, or SpOC, Space Systems Command, or SSC, and Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM.

The first two field commands will be led by three-star general officers, and the third will be led by a two-star general.

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Space Officials Wooing Intelligence Airmen

June 1, 2020
ExoNews Editor

Article by Rachel S. Cohen May 20, 2020 (airforcemag.com)

• Space intelligence is one area the military wants to expand and refine for intelligence Airmen who opt to join the Space Force. Space Force intends to build its own core intel capabilities, separate from the Air Force, to better identify objects in space and whether they pose a threat to U.S. assets. Working with the National Reconnaissance Office, Space Force Intelligence will encompass space-based ‘intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance’ (ISR) of the low orbit space between the Earth and the Moon.

• Space Force is considering how Airmen could broaden their understanding of the space domain by working in multiple career fields, according to Colonel Suzy Streeter, Space Force’s ISR director. Building the new service from scratch allows intel professionals hold command positions usually taken by Airmen who operate satellites, for instance, said U.S. Space Command’s ISR boss, Brigadier General Leah Lauderback.

• Adding new perspectives to Space Force leadership depends on how Airmen plan out their career paths. One option is having Space Force recruit start as a ‘space operator’ for the first four years, move into intelligence for ten years, and then decide whether to jump back into space operations or remain in Space Force intel. “That will give… a more integrated approach,” said Streeter. Any intelligence professional coming up the ranks in Space Force could become ‘chief of space operations’ after three to five years. Or an Airman could enter Space Force as a traditional intelligence officer and remain so for the rest of their career. They could still dabble in space operations, as the Force needs “ISR visionaries”.

• It has also been suggested that the service bring in new officer level recruits from the other services and industry, starting them as captains and majors. This could prove beneficial for targeting, intel collection management, and cyber operations. Enlisted personnel could also be ‘streamlined’ into operations intelligence and cryptologic analysis fields.

• All intelligence Airmen can apply to join or transfer into Space Force, whether they worked for Air Combat Command, Air Force Space Command, or another USAF organization. “It is likely that the [selection] board will be looking for personnel with a wide range of experiences, to ensure that USSF does not pigeonhole itself into one way of thinking.” The Space Force is accepting transfer applications from intel Airmen through May 31.

• In October, ‘selection board’ panels staffed by senior Air Force and Space Force leaders will decide which intel, acquisition, and other space professionals will join the Space Force starting February 1st, 2021. This panel will also process promotions until the Space Force’s ‘Space Training and Readiness Command’ (‘STARCOM”) is up-and-running and able to tailor a new process to the specific needs of Space Force.

• New Space Force bases will open up for intelligence assignments that weren’t previously used by the Space Force’s predecessor, Air Force Space Command, including Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada; Lackland Air Force Base in Texas; Fort Meade in Maryland; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; and assignments at the Pentagon and in Chantilly, Virginia.

• [Editor’s Note] Space Force Intelligence, just let us know when you would like a briefing.

New opportunities will open up for intelligence Airmen who opt to join the Space Force, intel officials said in a recent livestream.

Space intelligence is one area the military wants to expand and refine as a result of creating a new armed force focused on the cosmos. The Space Force envisions building its own core intel capabilities, separate from the Air Force, to better identify what and where objects are in space and if they threaten U.S. assets. The career field will work with the National Reconnaissance Office in new ways, encompass space-based ISR of the Earth below, and is pushing into cislunar orbit as well.

In March, the Air Force listed several intelligence organizations that are newly assigned to the Space Force. Some officials have suggested that the National Air and Space Intelligence Center could ramp up its help for the Space Force or spin off a separate space-focused center as well.

The Space Force is considering how Airmen could work in multiple career fields to broaden their understanding of the space domain, according to Col. Suzy Streeter, the service’s ISR director. Building the new service from scratch allows it to shake up its leadership echelons and let intel professionals hold command positions usually taken by the Airmen who operate satellites, said Brig. Gen. Leah Lauderback, U.S. Space Command intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance boss.

Adding different perspectives to Space Force leadership depends in part on how Airmen transfer in and plan out their career paths.

One staffing option gaining traction is having every member of the Space Force start as a space operator, or 13S. Someone could serve as a space operator for the first four years, move into intelligence for 10 years, and then decide whether to jump back into space operations or remain in intel, according to the presentation’s slideshow.

“That will give, really, a more integrated approach as you’re looking at futures, including, quite frankly, the chief of space operations,” Streeter said. “Why not have that open to whoever is a space professional?”

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First Chief of Space Force Sworn In

January 18, 2020
ExoNews Editor

Associated Press January 15, 2020 (king5.com)

• On January 14th, General John Raymond (pictured above with Vice-President Pence) was sworn in as the first ever Chief of Space Operations for the new U.S. Space Force. “Not only is (Space Force) historical, but it’s … absolutely critical to our national security and that of our allies,” Raymond said.

• President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law last month to officially launch the US Space Force. While the Space Force will operate under the Department of the Air Force, it is also a distinct military branch of service.

• The renewed focus on space as a military domain reflects concern about the vulnerability of military and commercial satellites that are susceptible to disruption by Chinese and Russian anti-satellite weapons. The new Space Command will conduct operations such as enabling satellite-based navigation and communications for troops and commanders in the field and providing warning of missile launches abroad.

Gen. John Raymond was sworn in Tuesday as the first ever Chief of Space Operations for the new U.S. Space Force.

President Donald Trump officially launched the Space Force last month when he signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. It will fall under the Department of the Air Force but is a distinct military service.

The role of the new Space Command is to conduct operations such as enabling satellite-based navigation and communications for troops and commanders in the field and providing warning of missile launches abroad.

“Not only is this historical, but it’s critical and this establishment is absolutely critical to our national security and that of our allies and it’s not lost on me or it’s not lost on the airmen that I am privileged to serve with,” Raymond said.

The renewed focus on space as a military domain reflects concern about the vulnerability of US satellites, both military and commercial, that are critical to US interests and are potentially susceptible to disruption by Chinese and Russian anti-satellite weapons.

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Trump Launches Space Command: Will They Fight Aliens And UFOs?

September 7, 2019
ExoNews Editor

Listen to “E87 9-7-19 Trump Launches Space Command: Will They Fight Aliens And UFOs?” on Spreaker.
Article by Arthur Villasanta August 30, 2019 (ibtimes.com)

• On August 29th, President Trump announced the reactivation of the United States Space Command at a White House ceremony. But the new command of the US Armed Forces won’t be fighting invading aliens or UFOs. The US Space Command is designed to meet the threat presented to U.S. military satellites by the increasingly sophisticated anti-satellite capabilities of Russia and China. Said President Trump, “Those who wish to harm the United States, to seek to challenge us on the ultimate high ground of space, it’s going to be a whole different ballgame.”

• The US Space Command was originally established in 1985 to coordinate the use of outer space by the United States Armed Forces, but was stood down in 2002. In 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the US Space Command would be reestablished as the eleventh unified combatant command under the DoD, similar in status to US Special Operations Command, US Cyber Command, US Pacific Command and US Central Command.

• The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law in 2018, directed the reestablishment of the US Space Command under the US Strategic Command. But in December 2018, President Trump directed that the US Space Command be re-established as a full ‘unified combatant command’ with full responsibilities for fighting wars in space. It is seen as a predecessor to Trump’s US Space Force, which will ultimately become the sixth military service in the armed forces, similar to the US Army and US Navy.

• US Air Force General John W. Raymond is the current Commander of the Air Force Space Command, and he will concurrently command the US Space Command as well. Said General Raymond, “We no longer have the luxury of treating space superiority as a given. There is a growing threat. The scope, scale and complexity is concerning.” General Raymond listed the threats that the US Space Command will deal with, including jamming of GPS communication satellites, directed energy weapons, and ground to satellite missiles which China demonstrated in 2007.

The defunct United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) was reactivated as a unified combatant command (UCC) of the Department of Defense (DoD) in ceremonies presided over by President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

USSPACECOM becomes the 11th UCC of the United States Armed Forces. This designation makes it similar in stature to other UCCs such as U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command.

Gen. John W. Raymond, USAF, is Commander of USSPACECOM. He is also the concurrent Commander of Air Force Space Command, which is a separate command from USSPACECOM.

USSPACECOM was originally established in 1985 to coordinate the use of outer space by the United States Armed Forces but was stood down in 2002. In 2018, DoD announced USSPACECOM would be reestablished as a unified combatant command.

“We no longer have the luxury of treating space superiority as a given,” said Gen. Raymond on Thursday.
“There is a growing threat. The scope, scale and complexity is concerning.”

1:27 minute video of President Trump’s Space Command ceremony (Washington Post)

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Esper Affirms Support for U.S. Space Command and for an Independent Space Force

September 1, 2019
ExoNews Editor

Listen to “E83 – 9-1-9 Esper Affirms Support for U.S. Space Command and for an Independent Space Force” on Spreaker.
Article by Sandra Erwin August 28, 2019 (spacenews.com)

• On August 28th, in his first news conference as defense secretary, Mark Esper (standing alongside Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford in image above) endorsed the US Space Command as the “next crucial step” in the Pentagon’s reorganization of space forces “to ensure the protection of America’s interests in space.”

• Esper also voiced support for the creation of an independent Space Force as a branch of the armed forces. But the DoD cannot move forward on the establishment of a Space Force branch of the military until Congress authorizes it. Congress is on recess until September 9th . Sources told SpaceNews that DoD officials met with congressional committee staffers over the August recess to discuss Space Force legislation.

• The Pentagon is pushing back on the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which re-designates the Air Force Space Command as the U.S. Space Force without revising Title 10 of the U.S. Code to establish a new military service as necessary. The Senate proposes a one-year transition to consider Title 10 revisions out of concerns about excessive costs and growth in the military bureaucracy. The House version does not require a transition period.

• During his confirmation hearing in July, Esper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that this is the right time to create a separate Space Force service. Referencing the creation of a separate Air Force in 1947, Esper said, “[We’ve] got to realize that it is a new domain of warfare and it requires a different organizational construct and a different way of thinking about it.” “I urge the committee to provide the necessary technical legislative authority to establish the Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Forces within the Department of the Air Force. I also request the committee to provide the department with the necessary resources to ensure its success.”

• [Editor’s Note] This is a stand-off between the Trump-backed independent Space Force, and the Deep State-backed US Space Command. The Deep State players in the government want this whole space service under the control of Air Force generals whom the Deep State can still manipulate, in spite of the Air Force’s recent shift away from the Deep State. Trump and the Alliance want the space service separate from the Air Force and the US Space Command, so that he can staff the military branch with non-Deep State officials.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday gave the United States Space Command a forceful endorsement and described the standup of the new command as the “next crucial step” in the Pentagon’s reorganization of space forces.

Esper spoke on Wednesday in his first news conference as defense secretary alongside Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford. Esper insisted that he does not intend to depart from the broad goals of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which calls for DoD to work closely with allies and to modernize the U.S. military to outpace China and Russia.

On Thursday at the White House, President Trump and Vice President Pence will host an establishment ceremony with Esper and the commander of U.S. Space Command Gen. John Raymond.

“I’m excited for tomorrow’s activation of the United States Space Command to ensure the protection of America’s interests in space,” Esper said. “We must apply the necessary focus, energy and resources to the task. That is exactly what the command will do.”

Esper also voiced support for the establishment of an independent Space Force as a branch of the armed forces. But DoD cannot move forward until Congress authorizes it.

“As a unified command, the United States Space Command is the next crucial step toward the creation of an independent Space Force as an additional armed service — an independent additional armed service,” said Esper.

Congress is on recess until Sept. 9. But DoD officials have met with congressional committee staffs over the August recess to discuss Space Force legislation, sources told SpaceNews. The Pentagon specifically is pushing back on the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which re-designates the Air Force Space Command as the U.S. Space Force but does not rewrite Title 10 of the U.S. Code to establish a new military service. The Senate proposes a one-year transition after which it would consider Title 10 revisions. The House version of the NDAA does not require that transition period.

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Pence Briefed on Space Force Proposal at Pentagon Meeting

December 22, 2018
ExoNews Editor

by Sandra Erwin December 19, 2018 (spacenews.com)

• On Tuesday December 18th,Vice President Mike Pence announced President Trump’s Pentagon directive to establish a four star U.S. Space Command. While at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Tuesday, Pence said, “We’re working as we speak with leaders in both parties in Congress to stand up the United States Space Force before the end of 2020.”

• On Wednesday, VP Pence was at the Pentagon to receive a briefing on space operations and cyber defense. One of the topics was the Pentagon’s draft proposal, named SPD-4, establishing a Space Force as a sixth separate military branch. The directive is being finalized and could be signed by the president shortly after the new year.

• The SPD-4 directive would instruct Department of Defense to submit a legislative proposal on how the new service would be organized and a budget request. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said to reporters, “We’re right now in final coordination in the building on the legislative proposal.”

• The Space Force will most likely be initially organized under the Department of the Air Force. This approach would be less costly and more likely to get congressional support, experts said. The Air Force had already included an Air Force Space Command. Under this construct, Space Force would still meet the criteria to be considered a sixth service, said Thomas Taverney, the former vice commander of the Air Force Space Command.

• The Pentagon could keep costs under control by making the Space Force a leaner organization that does not require multiple layers of bureaucracy to get things done, Taverney said. “Maybe we can come up with a more efficient way to set up the organization.”

• One part of the plan that is still unresolved is the establishment of a preliminary Space Development Agency to accelerate innovation and insertion of commercial technology into space programs. Its functions and makeup have not yet been decided. A study team will have 60 days to complete this task. “What is it going to be? An overarching policy organization? A separate acquisition organization? Or a new acquisition organization that takes pieces from the others?” Taverney asked.

• Air Force brass is pushing for Fred Kennedy, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office, to head the Space Development Agency. Kennedy has past experience working at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and has ‘space acquisition’ expertise.

• [Editor’s Note] It now appears that the Deep State tentacles of the Air Force and DARPA are creeping into the creation and control of this supposedly “separate sixth branch of the military”. Is this the ‘Space Force’ that President Trump intended?

Vice President Mike Pence visited the Pentagon on Wednesday to receive a briefing on space operations and cyber defense. One of the topics was the proposal the Pentagon is drafting to establish a Space Force as a separate military branch.

Speaking with reporters shortly before Pence arrived at the Pentagon Wednesday morning, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the establishment of a Space Force was one item on the agenda. “We’re going to talk to him about a number of projects going on here in the building,” Shanahan said, according to a pool report.

Pence came to the Pentagon one day after announcing that President Trump directed the Defense Department to establish U.S. Space Command as a four-star combatant command. Speaking on Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Pence said Trump will also sign a new space policy directive in the coming days that will lay out plans and a timeline to create a U.S. Space Force as a sixth branch of the armed forces. “We’re working as we speak with leaders in both parties in Congress to stand up the United States Space Force before the end of 2020,” said Pence.

The new space policy directive, named SPD-4, is the fourth major space policy action by the Trump administration. According to sources, the directive is being finalized and could be signed by the president shortly after the new year. The policy memo would instruct DoD to submit a legislative proposal on how the new service would be organized and a budget request. The National Space Council, led by Pence, has been in back and forth coordination with DoD on the legislative proposal.

Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that the legislative proposal has not yet been shared with Congress. “We’re right now in final coordination in the building on the legislative proposal,” he said. “I think we’re still on the timeline. We’ve kind of all talked about it.”

DoD sources said the Space Force proposal will likely recommend organizing the new branch initially under the Department of the Air Force. This would make the Space Force comparable to the Marine Corps, which is part of the Department of the Navy. This approach would be less costly and more likely to get congressional support, experts said.

Organizing the Space Force under the Department of the Air Force is “probably the most logical way to solve this in the near term, said Thomas Taverney, a retired Air Force major general who served as vice commander of Air Force Space Command.

The Space Force under this construct would still meet the criteria to be considered a sixth service, Taverney told SpaceNews.

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Trump Directs DOD to Establish a Space Force in a Surprise Announcement

June 20, 2018
ExoNews Editor

by Rachel Becker Jun 18, 2018 (theverge.com)

• On June 18th, President Trump hijacked the scheduled signing of a Space Policy Directive on the subject of space traffic management and space debris at a meeting of the National Space Council to again call for a Space Force as a sixth branch of the US military. “We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the Space Force, separate but equal. It is going to be something so important,” President Trump announced.

• Trump first proposed the idea of a Space Force in March 2018, in opposition to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ who favors a ‘Space Corps’ as an arm of the U.S. Air Force. Mattis argues that it will create more overhead and bureaucracy. The Air Force Space Command currently controls our military interests in space. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 has already directed the DoD to prepare a report on establishing a USAF ‘Space Corps’ that is due in August.

• What Trump didn’t mention was what the Space Force would do and how it would be funded. Point in fact, Congress would have to pass legislation to both to create a new branch of the military and to fund it.

• Then there is the 1967 United Nations’ “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”, ratified by 104 nations including Russia, China and the U.S., which prohibits nuclear weapons, war exercises, or even military installations in space. (see Article IV)

• [Editor’s Note] This seems to illustrate the current struggle between the Pentagon/Trump Alliance forces and the historically and predominantly ‘Deep State’ controlled Air Force for official control over space, and therefore disclosure of such secret space programs and technology. Recall that in discussing the USAF space program that shot down the Deep State guided missile over Hawaii in January of this year, Dr Michael Salla distinguishes this hero USAF faction as a “USAF run Secret Space Program that has broken away from Deep State control”.

President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Forces in a meeting with the National Space Council today.

“We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the Space Force, separate but equal. It is going to be something so important,” President Trump said.

“Separate but equal” is an appalling turn of phrase given that it’s derived from Plessy v. Ferguson, the now-overturned Supreme Court precedent for segregation.

The announcement came as a surprise in a meeting where the newly revived National Space Council was set to unveil the first comprehensive policy on space traffic management. “The whole point of today’s meeting was not about this at all, it was about the space traffic management policy decision,” says Brian Weeden, director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation — an NGO that focuses on space policy.

Still, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Trump’s hopes for a Space Force; he first proposed the idea of a Space Force in March 2018 — contradicting Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ opposition to creating a new military service. In a letter to the Committee on Armed Services, Mattis argued that it would just create more overhead and bureaucracy.

As it stands, the Air Force is largely in charge of controlling national security in space under the umbrella of the Air Force Space Command. Its responsibilities include supervising launches and controlling DoD satellites — including ones involved in missile early warnings, communication, and navigation.

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Tag: Air Force Space Command