Tag: Mike Pence

The Official Space Force Ranks

Article by Oriana Pawlyk                                             January 29, 2021                                             (military.com)

• The US Space Force’s new ranking system for its enlisted members and officers mostly mirrors that Air Force’s ranks. The Space Force ranks took effect on February 1, 2021.

• In December, former-Vice President Mike Pence announced that space professionals would be called Guardians. Space Force junior enlisted members between E-1 and E-4 will now be called specialists (like the Army). E-5 personnel are sergeant and E-6 are technical sergeant. The most senior E-9 rank is the Chief Master Sergeant. Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, the senior enlisted adviser to the service, will officially assume that top enlisted title. Officer ranks from second lieutenant to general will be the same as the Air Force’s ranking. There will be no changes to benefits entitlements.

• In July, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, proposed an amendment in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requiring “the same system and rank structure as is used in the Navy” for the Space Force. A Navy rank system would make sense for the Space Force, experts have said. Other space enthusiasts have noted on social media that “Space Admiral just sounds better.”

• Even William Shatner – the actor who portrayed Capt. James Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the original “Star Trek” series – initially backed Crenshaw’s idea. In an op-ed titled, “What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?” published in Military Times in August 2020, Shatner said, “When you unveiled the Space Force logo, many immediately saw it as an homage to ‘Star Trek’ (even though our Delta was an homage to the previous military space insignias). Why not borrow back from ‘Star Trek’ and adopt our ranks as well?” he wrote. “We took them from the Navy for good reason.”

• “A good reason to use Navy ranks in the Space Force is to better distinguish [Space Force] personnel from Air Force personnel, kind of like [the Marine Corps] using different ranks than the Navy,” said Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. But lawmakers ultimately ditched Crenshaw’s provision on naval ranks.

• Space Force has so far debuted its organizational structure; official logo, seal, flag and motto; a dark navy-colored name tape; and a lapel pin. The service still lacks an official dress uniform, physical fitness uniform and mess dress uniform; an official song; patch and insignia wear. It has released three commercials to attract new recruits.

• [Editor’s Note]  For years, Congress has managed to do next to nothing. Apparently, our “lawmakers” only step in when they feel it is time to screw things up. An ‘Admiral’ of a Starship makes so much more sense than a ‘General’. Did they do the opposite of Dan Crenshaw’s proposal simply because he is a Republican? It is clear that Congress is occupied by complete morons. It is time to clear them out, tell the public what is really going on, and to start all over for the sake of our country.

 

The U.S. Space Force finally has an official rank structure for its enlisted members and officers, a service spokesman has confirmed to Military.com.

A leaked memo first posted on the popular Facebook page Amn/Nco/Snco detailed the new ranks, which nearly mirror Air Force ranks.

Instead of “airman,” junior enlisted members between E-1 and E-4 will be called specialists, according to the document. The Army is the other service with a specialist rank, for troops in the E-4 paygrade.

While the Air Force has staff and technical sergeants, the Space Force E-5 rank will be known as sergeant, followed by technical sergeant for E-6. Officer ranks — second lieutenant to general — will remain the same as its sister service.

     Rep. Dan Crenshaw

The new rank structure takes effect Feb. 1, the memo states.

The most senior member is the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, an E-9 rank, the memo adds. Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, the senior enlisted adviser to the service, will officially assume that title effective next week, the spokesman said.

Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman

There will be no changes to benefits entitlements, according to the memo.

Some speculated that the Space Force, which is part of the Department of the Air Force, would adopt its parent service’s rank structure; others argued for using the Navy’s rank system — which is what some lawmakers intended.

In July, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, proposed an amendment in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requiring “the same system and rank structure as is used in the Navy” for the Space Force, according to a House summary of the text.

Space Force officials said they were ready to move forward, but because of the measure, the service halted announcing its decision at that time.

A Navy rank system would make sense for the Space Force, experts have said. Other space enthusiasts have noted on social media that “Space Admiral just sounds better.”

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

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…

                    director, James Gunn

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

               Mark Hamill

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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Will Biden Cede Space Preeminence to the Chinese?

Article by Douglas MacKinnon                                December 12, 2020                                   (thehill.com)

• On December 9th, Vice President Mike Pence addressed an assembly of the National Space Council, and to introduce the NASA astronauts selected for the Artemis Program’s return of humans to the Moon. During his speech, Pence made mention of the growing threat posed to the United States by China’s militarized space program. “China is increasingly emerging as a serious competitor in space,” said Pence. “As the world witnessed, China recently landed an unmanned craft on the moon and, for the first time, robotically raised the red flag of Communist China on that magnificent desolation.”

• “China is increasingly emerging as a serious competitor in space,” said Pence. “In four short years (ie: Trump’s administration), America is leading in space once again.” The reality is that China emerged as a serious competitor well over a decade ago, becoming the preeminent space-faring nation on Earth. The Trump administration has been forced to play catch-up after the setbacks in the space program enacted under his previous administration. And now that Joe Biden may be assuming the White House in January, China knows that the US is could to slip further behind.

• Virtually every incoming President has tended to scale back or dismantle the space policies enacted by his predecessor. When Barack Obama replaced George W. Bush, his administration oversaw the shutdown of America’s ability to send astronauts into space on US spacecraft. We came to rely on the Russians to get Americans to the mostly U.S.-built International Space Station – at a cost of $90 million per astronaut.

• The political and military leadership of China are thrilled that an incoming Biden administration, which despises Trump, would put Trump’s space policies – such as the Space Force, the return of American astronauts to the Moon, and the very existence of the National Space Council – squarely in the crosshairs of Team Biden. Much of Biden’s NASA transition team is led and staffed by Obama-era retreads who have made it abundantly clear that they favor redirecting NASA and Space Force dollars toward domestic programs and fighting climate change.

• Such stated goals are music to the ears of the People’s Republic of China. Every US tax dollar directed away from the American space program is a victory for China and their ultimate endgame. China understands its greatest competition, and its greatest threat, is the United States. They look for any opportunity to create an advantage over the US to further its goal to dominate the cislunar theater from Earth to the Moon. Recent news of the Chinese government seeking to compromise certain US politicians is evidence of China’s long-term strategy to usurp American power.

• You can be sure the Chinese leadership is hopeful that Biden will not only dismantle all that Trump has done regarding space, but will relegate the US space program to a back burner. In this case, historic precedent is on the side of the Chinese.

 

This past week, Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as chair of the National Space Council, addressed a meeting of that group at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Although his speech was rather generic and filled with too much partisan praise of President Trump, he did manage to briefly address a critically important topic: the growing threat posed to the United States by China’s militarized space program.

But, as they say in the news business, even with that warning, Pence still managed to “bury the lead.” In remarks that stretched almost two hours, he spoke about the threat from China for only one brief paragraph.

Said Pence: “China is increasingly emerging as a serious competitor in space, just as they are in other areas of the global economy and to the strategic interest of the United States. As the world witnessed, China recently landed an unmanned craft on the moon and, for the first time, robotically raised the red flag of Communist China on that magnificent desolation.”

The political and military leadership directing China’s space program must have burst out laughing when they heard or read Pence’s assessment that “China is increasingly emerging as a serious competitor in space,” or when, later in the speech, he declared: “In four short years, America is leading in space once again — it’s true.”

In fact, China “emerged” as a “serious competitor” well over a decade ago.

China knows it is the preeminent space-faring nation on Earth, and that the United States may be about to slip much further behind them with the coming change in presidential administrations.

For all those in the United States who understand the critical need for the United States to have robust civilian and military space programs, almost every presidential election becomes a recurring nightmare realized.

The main reason is that virtually every incoming president tends to scale back or dismantle the space policies enacted by his predecessor. The fact that the “predecessor” in this case will be Donald Trump, who is despised by much of the incoming Biden administration, puts Trump’s space policies and programs squarely in the “cancel it” crosshairs of Team Biden — policies such as the Space Force, a return of American astronauts to the moon, and the very existence of the National Space Council itself.

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Dominic Cummings Wants Britain to Build a Manned Moon Base

 

Article by Ciaran McGrath                           March 4, 2020                           (express.co.uk)

• Dominic Cummings oversees Britain’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) as a special adviser to PM Boris Johnson. To mark the 50th anniversary of Britain’s Black Arrow rocket, which launched the UK into the space age, Cummings proposes that Britain consider “projects that could bootstrap new international institutions that help solve more general coordination problems such as the risk of accidental nuclear war.” “The most obvious example of a project like this,” said Cummings, “…is a manned international lunar base.”

• Cummings referred to plans devised by George Mueller, a former associate administrator for NASA, who is credited for masterminding the Apollo missions that included a Moon base – plans that Cummings said had been “tragically abandoned” in the 1970s.

• Cummings has little faith in older institutions like the UN and the EU to deliver workable solutions to global coordination problems. He believes that such solutions will more likely emerge as byproducts of new, large projects such as developing and building a Moon base. Such a Moon base would stimulate basic science, create an infrastructure for space industrialization, and encourage cooperation between the great world powers. Says Cummings, “[S]hifting our industrial/psychological frontiers into space drastically reduces the chances of widespread destruction.”

• Back in 1969, Mueller’s plan was to establish a space station in lunar orbit as a mobile base. From there, a lunar craft would go back and forth from the orbiting station to the surface of the Moon, systematically exploring the surface. When they’ve found a suitable place, they will establish the lunar base there.

• In 2018, space entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted that he planned to build a base on the Moon by 2028.

• US Vice President Mike Pence has called on NASA to build a space platform in lunar orbit and put American astronauts on the Moon’s south pole within five years “by any means necessary”.

• Last year, Jeff Bezos of the ‘Blue Origin’ space company announced his plan to transport people to a manned lunar base by 2024. To this end, his company is working on the ‘Blue Moon’, a robotic space cargo carrier and lander for making cargo deliveries to the Moon.

 

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the blast-off of Britain’s Black Arrow rocket, launching the UK into the space age – and with 25 percent of the world’s small telecommunications satellites currently build in Britain, the potential is plain for all to see. Mr Cummings, who is overseeing a wide-ranging Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) outlined his ideas in a blog published last June, less than a month before he was appointed Boris Johnson’s special adviser.

                  Dominic Cummings

He wrote: “We need to consider projects that could bootstrap new international institutions that help solve more general coordination problems such as the risk of accidental nuclear war.

“The most obvious example of a project like this I can think of is a manned international lunar base which would be useful for a) basic science, b) the practical purposes of building urgently needed near-Earth infrastructure for space industrialisation, and c) to force the creation of new practical international institutions for cooperation between Great Powers.”

Mr Cummings referred to plans devised by George Mueller, NASA’s former associate administrator, and the man widely credited with masterminding the Apollo missions, for precisely such a base – plans which Mr Cummings said had been “tragically abandoned” in the 1970s.

Mr Cummings, who was campaign director for Vote Leave, had little faith in Brussels to deliver workable solutions.

He said: “The old institutions like the UN and EU – built on early 20th Century assumptions about the performance of centralised bureaucracies – are incapable of solving global coordination problems.

“It seems to me more likely that institutions with qualities we need are much more likely to eme

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NASA’s Full Artemis Plan Revealed: 37 Launches and a Lunar Outpost

by Eric Berger                   May 20, 2019                    (arstechnica.com)

• In March 2019, Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA to return to the Moon by 2024. Since then, NASA has been working on a plan to accomplish this using existing technology, large projects nearing completion, and commercial rockets. The first draft of this unofficial “Artemis Plan” reveal a human landing in 2024, annual sorties to the lunar surface, and the construction of a Moon base beginning in 2028. It involves 37 launches of private and NASA rockets, and a mix of robotic and human landers. This plan is everything Pence asked for—an urgent human return, a Moon base, a mix of existing and new contractors.

• NASA’s projected cost for this program is $6 billion to $8 billion per year on top of NASA’s existing budget of about $20 billion. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has asked for an additional $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2020 to jump-start its lander development. Due to its massive cost, an international partnership will be needed to sustain this plan. The White House has proposed paying for the lunar project with a surplus in the Pell Grant Reserve Fund (provided to low-income college students). But this appears to be a non-starter with House Democrats.

• Boeing has been working on the core stage of the Space Launch System for eight years. The three-stage, reusable lunar lander envisioned by NASA to get humans to the lunar surface will require new, upgraded engines and control systems, including fuel management. It is uncertain that Boeing will be able to deliver an SLS core stage in 2020, then again in 2022, and then six more between 2024 and 2028, according to this ambitious plan.

• Funding for the lunar program is a harsh political reality. Will Congressional Democrats insist that NASA funding may only come from Department of Defense funds earmarked for Space Force? And what if Trump is not re-elected in 2020? Will a new administration pursue a lunar program that has barely gotten off the ground? Or will it pivot toward a lower-cost space program that makes extensive use of the new private space industry?

• If the funding issues are resolved, this NASA plan could take us back to the Moon. But it probably won’t happen by 2024. A more realistic date would be 2026 at the earliest, say sources inside NASA.

 

In the nearly two months since Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA to return to the Moon by 2024, space agency engineers have been working to put together a plan that leverages existing technology, large projects nearing completion, and commercial rockets to bring this about.

Last week, an updated plan that demonstrated a human landing in 2024, annual sorties to the lunar surface thereafter, and the beginning of a Moon base by 2028, began circulating within the agency. A graphic, shown below, provides information about each of the major launches needed to construct a small Lunar Gateway, stage elements of a lunar lander there, fly crews to the Moon and back, and conduct refueling missions.

This decade-long plan, which entails 37 launches of private and NASA rockets, as well as a mix of robotic and human landers, culminates with a “Lunar Surface Asset Deployment” in 2028, likely the beginning of a surface outpost for long-duration crew stays. Developed by the agency’s senior human spaceflight manager, Bill Gerstenmaier, this plan is everything Pence asked for—an urgent human return, a Moon base, a mix of existing and new contractors.

One thing missing is its cost. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has asked for an additional $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2020 as a down payment to jump-start lander development. But all of the missions in this chart would cost much, much more. Sources continue to tell Ars that the internal projected cost is $6 billion to $8 billion per year on top of NASA’s existing budget of about $20 billion.

The plan also misses what is likely another critical element. It’s not clear what role there would be on these charts for international partners, as nearly all of the vehicles could—and likely would—come from NASA or US- based companies. An international partnership, as evidenced by the International Space Station program, is likely key to sustaining a lunar program over the long term in the US political landscape.

Three miracles

Although the plan is laudable in that it represents a robust human exploration of deep space, scientific research, and an effort to tap water resources at the Moon, it faces at least three big problems.

The first issue is funding and political vulnerability. One reason Bridenstine has not shared the full cost of the program as envisioned is “sticker shock” that has doomed other previous efforts. However, if NASA is going to attempt a Moon landing with this specific plan—rather than a radical departure that relies on smaller, reusable rockets—the agency will need a lot more money.

So far, the White House has proposed paying for this with a surplus in the Pell Grant Reserve Fund. But this appears to be a non-starter with House Democrats. “The President is proposing to further cut a beneficial needs-based grants program that provides a lifeline to low-income students, namely the Pell Grants program, in order to pay for the first year of this initiative—something that I cannot support,” House science committee chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has said.

Congress is also not going to give NASA an unlimited authority to reprogram funds, with an apparently open-ended time frame, which Bridenstine has sought.

A second problem is that NASA’s current plan relies on its contractors to actually deliver hardware. Boeing’s work on the core stage of the Space Launch System is emblematic of this problem. The company has been working on the core stage for eight years, and it is unlikely to be ready for flight before another year or two. Boeing’s management of the contract has been harshly criticized by NASA’s Inspector General. After all this, can Boeing be counted on to deliver an SLS core stage in 2020, then again in 2022, and six more between 2024 and 2028?

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Pence Briefed on Space Force Proposal at Pentagon Meeting

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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