Tag: space force

First Fifty Officers to Transfer from Other Services to Space Force

Article by Abraham Mahshie                                            June 30, 2021                                                         (airforcemag.com)

• The US Space Force currently consists of 5,200 Air Force transfers. As of July, another 50 active-duty Army, Navy, and Marine Corps volunteers are also to be transferred to Space Force out of a highly-competitive pool of over 3,700 applicants. Another round of 350 personnel transfers will be announced in July to fill specialties including space operations, intelligence, cyber, engineering, and acquisition by 2022.

• In a June 30 press statement, Gen. David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations, said, “We are overwhelmed by the number of applicants, and the outpouring of support our sister services have provided as we’ve partnered together to design the Space Force.”

• As of June 15th, the total manpower of the Space Force stands at roughly 12,000 Guardians, with some 6,000 civilians and 5,500 military. An undisclosed number of Air Force Airmen also continue to support the Space Force in an administrative assignment capacity. By 2022, that number should reach 16,000 with the planned future transfers. This relatively small number of personnel, compared to the other five US military branches, will comprise the “lean” new space domain fighting force. “[M]ore information will be released in the coming months,” a Space Force spokesperson said.

 

           Gen. David D. Thompson

Out of a pool of more than 3,700 applicants, the first 50 Active-duty Army, Navy, and Marine Corps volunteers were announced for transfer to the Space Force beginning in July. A second tranche of 350 transfers will be announced in July to match Space Force specialties including space operations, intelligence, cyber, engineering, and acquisition.

The highly competitive process continues the organic growth of the military’s newest service, joining 5,200 Air Force transfers.

“We are overwhelmed by the number of applicants, and the outpouring of support our sister services have provided as we’ve partnered together to design the Space Force,” said Gen. David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations, in a June 30 press statement.

The total manpower of the Space Force is roughly 12,000 Guardians, with some 6,000 civilians and 5,500 military as of June 15. An undisclosed number of Air Force Airmen also continue to support the Space Force in an administrative assignment capacity.

A Space Force spokesperson told Air Force Magazine June 30 that the force is onboarding the first 50 transfers from other services in fiscal 2021, which ends Sept. 30. The July announcement of 350 more transfers will be onboarded in the 2022 fiscal year.

New Guardians will join the force on a staggered approach according to their own individual schedules rather than a single transfer ceremony.

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Space Force’s Task to Protect and Defend U.S. Interests Between Here and the Moon

Article by Lauren Fruen                                                  June 28 2021                                                                 (the-sun.com)

• On July 23rd, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) released a 23-page document entitled: “A Primer on Cislunar Space”, referring to the area between the Earth and the Moon. The director of AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate, Col. Eric Felt, states: “As commerce extends to the Moon and beyond, it is vital we understand and solve those unique challenges so that we can provide space domain awareness and security.” With the Moon more than 238,000 miles from Earth, countries are scrambling to fill the gap.

• The US Space Force is tasked with defending and protecting U.S. interests in space. When Space Force was established by President Trump in December 2019 as a ‘separate but equal’ branch of the US military, the limits of protected space was in near-Earth geostationary range at 22,236 miles. “With new US public and private sector operations extending into cislunar space, the reach of USSF’s sphere of interest will extend to 272,000 miles and beyond – more than a tenfold increase in range and 1,000-fold expansion in service volume,” reads the report.

• The report adds: “As USSF organizes, trains, and equips to provide the resources necessary to protect and defend vital US interests in and beyond Earth-orbit, new collaborations will be key to operating safely and securely on these distant frontiers.” The report is “targeted at military space professionals who will answer the call to develop plans, capabilities, expertise, and operational concepts.”

• When Space Force was launched, Donald Trump said at the time: “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.

• Earlier this month, Air Force Colonel Eric Felt got straight to the point: “Space war is going to look a lot like the Cold War in a couple of different ways. First of all, we hope nobody’s actually exchanging destructive weapons with each other, and that we don’t just hope, but we take active actions to deter that from happening. The nature of conflict in space is that there is an offensive advantage, or a ‘first-mover’ advantage, in that it is a lot easier to attack somebody else than to defend your own stuff. And we’ve seen that before—that’s the same as with…nuclear weapons.”

 

                       Colonel Eric Felt

An Air Force Research Laboratory report details how the Earth’s only natural satellite – and the space around it – could become a new military frontier, SpaceNews reports.

The 23-page document, “A Primer on Cislunar Space”, was published by the Air Force Research Laboratory just two days before the US government admitted they could not explain 144 sightings of flying objects.

    President Trump creating Space Force

The report explains it “is targeted at military space professionals who will answer the call to develop plans, capabilities, expertise, and operational concepts.”

It adds: “When established in December 2019, USSF [United States Space Force] was tasked with defending and protecting U.S. interests in space.

“Until now, the limits of that mission have been in near Earth, out to approximately geostationary range (22,236 miles). ”

The report adds: “With new US public and private sector operations extending into cislunar space, the reach of USSF’s sphere of interest will extend to 272,000 miles and beyond – more than a tenfold increase in range and 1,000-fold expansion in service volume.”

Cislunar space is the space between Earth and the moon.

The report adds: “As USSF organizes, trains, and equips to provide the resources necessary to protect and defend vital US interests in and beyond Earth-orbit, new collaborations will be key to operating safely and securely on these distant frontiers.”

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Indonesia’s UFO-Community BETA-UFO Weighs in on U.S. Government Report

Article by Wulan Kusuma Wardhani                                             June 7, 2021                                                (thejakartapost.com)

• Indonesia’s largest UFO-centric community is BETA-UFO (‘BETA’ being short for Benda Terbang Aneh, the Indonesian translation of UFO). Established in 1997, BETA-UFO has more than 19,000 registered members on its Facebook group, with about one hundred actively involved in the community’s ongoing activities. BETA-UFO carries out discussion, research, investigation and public education on UFOs. The community’s website contains information about, among other things, UFO sightings around Indonesia. Anyone can report sightings through the Facebook and WhatsApp groups, but only selected testimonies are published on the website.

• “BETA-UFO keeps thinking critically, meaning we aren’t believers who ignore data and facts,” said Nur Agustinus, cofounder of the community organization. The community usually contacts people who report sightings and analyzes any pictures sent by possible witnesses. “If the analysis proves that, for example, it’s a light beam or flare ejected from the sun, we will tell them it isn’t a UFO. We have members from various government agencies, so it’s easy to check [facts].”

• Agustinu, who is today a psychologist in Surabaya, shared with The Jakarta Post how his ongoing passion for extraterrestrial phenomena began. As a high school student, he discovered astronomy and fell in love. “I liked observing the stars and moon with a telescope. My parents supported my hobby.” As he grew older, he devoured any articles and books about UFOs that he could find.

• Another senior BETA-UFO member, Anugerah Sentot Sudono or “Nugy”, has been fascinated by extraterrestrial phenomena since he was a child when his father let him watch a movie depicting a UFO and aliens. Nugy’s curiosity grew stronger when he lived in Paris in the 1980s. In 1990, Nugy was in Puncak, Bogor for a senior high school class farewell party. “I went to bed around 9 p.m., but was suddenly awakened at 12 a.m. Then I walked upstairs to the balcony. When I looked to the skies, I saw an oval object moving downward,” said the 48-year-old learning development manager. “My friends thought it was a comet. But I told them it wasn’t, because a comet has a tail and is not as bright as this object.” Nugy became a full-fledged believer.

• Nugy has had to endure the slings and arrows of skeptics. In February 2021, Nugy was interviewed for a YouTube channel. In the comments section, some said that Nugy was insane and a liar. He has even been accused of making up stories.

• In the 1960s, Jacob Salatun was a Vice Air Marshal in the Indonesian Air Force. He founded the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, wrote a pair of books on UFOs, and pioneered an Indonesian UFO Studies group – a precursor to BETA-UFO. Nugy says that in the 1950s, Salatun had documented proof of alien and UFO encounters. In one of his books, Jacob related the testimony of the head of a police station in Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara about an alien and UFO encounter the officer had experienced. That “testimony” was one of the many things that convinced Nugy that UFOs were not merely the imagination of just a few. “It’s hard for us to think this is all a mass hallucination,” said Nugy.

• Agustinus says that alien origins is a favorite topic that always gets strong traction from Facebook members. “Some say they may come from outside the Earth. There is also an assumption that they may have been living on Earth for a long time in unknown places, either in underground caves or on the seabed. US and Russian military officers have reported their encounters with unidentified submerged objects.” These types of theories get passed around on the BETA-UFO board.

• Leaked information on the impending US Congressional report on UFOs, however, indicates that no conclusive evidence has been found to suggest that UFOs are alien spaceships. Agustinus thinks that there are political agendas behind the disclosure.

• Nugy believes that if UFOs are considered a threat, the US military will go after more funding to prepare for this threat. Nugy never thought that the US report would reveal the existence of alien lifeforms. “In the end, if aliens are classified as a threat, the DoD would end up requesting a budget increase for the US Space Force,” he said.

 

              Nur Agustinus

“I liked observing the stars and moon with a telescope. My parents supported my hobby.”

Nur Agustinus, cofounder of Indonesia’s largest UFO-centric community, BETA-UFO, shared with The Jakarta Post how his ongoing passion for extraterrestrial phenomena began. As a high school student he discovered astronomy and fell in love. His parents found it positive and let the young Nur, now 55 years of age, have his fun.

As he grew older, he devoured any articles and books about UFOs he could get his hands on.

“In 1979, news about UFO sightings in New Zealand was published in major newspapers such as Sinar Harapan and Kompas. In the same year, many books on UFOs in Indonesian were published by [Bandung-based publisher] Tanadi Group,” recalled Nur, who is today a psychologist in Surabaya.

      Anugerah Sentot Sudono or “Nugy”

Another senior BETA-UFO member, Anugerah Sentot Sudono, who often goes by

Jacob Salatun, Vice Air Marshal in the Indonesian Air Force

Nugy, has been fascinated by extraterrestrial phenomena since he was a child, starting after his father let him watch a movie depicting a UFO and aliens.

Nugy’s curiosity grew stronger when he lived in Paris between 1984 and 1985. During his time there, Nugy read many books about UFOs. However, it wasn’t until an occurrence in 1990 at Puncak, Bogor, that Nugy truly fell for UFOs.

“I was there for a senior high school class farewell party. I went to bed around 9 p.m., but was suddenly awakened at 12 a.m. Then I walked upstairs to the balcony. When I looked to the skies, I saw an oval object moving downward,” recalled the 48-year-old learning development manager.

“My friends thought it was a comet. But I told them it wasn’t, because a comet has a tail and is not as bright as this object.”
Nugy became a full-fledged believer.

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DoD Agencies to Invest Over $1 Billion in Low-Earth Orbit Space Technologies

Article by Sandra Erwin                                                 May 30, 2021                                                               (spacenews.com)

• According to budget documents released May 28th, of the $1.2 billion defense budget proposed by the Biden administration for fiscal year 2022, $936.7 million is earmarked for the Space Development Agency’s communications network in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) known as the ‘Transport Layer’. The Missile Defense Agency is seeking about $292.8 million for space sensors, and the DARPA is requesting $42 million to deploy experimental satellites in LEO under the Blackjack program.

• These agencies report to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and are not part of Space Force, which has its own budget for research, development and procurement of new systems. But many of the LEO technologies developed by SDA, MDA and DARPA are expected to transition into larger Space Force programs.

• Of the $936.7 million for the Space Development Agency, $808.8 million goes for research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E), $53.8 million for operations and maintenance, and $74 million for procurement. This is a $600 million increase from 2021 and is the first time that SDA gets a separate funding line for procurement. With this budget, the SDA can move ahead with a demonstration of SDA’s first 28 satellites in the Transport Layer in 2022. This will be followed by the procurement of up to 150 Transport Layer satellites to launch in 2024.

• The $292.8 million for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) includes funding to allow hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor payloads to be launched to a low orbit in fiscal year 2023 as well as ground systems. This data would be used to track the trajectory of a maneuvering hypersonic missile so it can be intercepted. Two existing missile-tracking satellites in LEO that were launched in 2009 will be taken out of service. The MDA is also requesting $32 million for the Spacebased Kill Assessment (SKA) project, which uses a network of infrared satellite sensors to assess the performance of MDA’s interceptors.

• DARPA (the Defense Advanced research Projects Agency) is requesting $42 million to continue the Blackjack project to demonstrate the military utility of small satellites in LEO to provide communications, missile warning and navigation. Since 2018, the agency has awarded contracts to multiple vendors for satellite buses, payloads and an autonomous computing system to operate the constellation. DARPA wants to deploy as many as 20 satellites to demonstrate that a common satellite bus (launch) can be flown with different payloads and that a constellation can be operated autonomously.

 

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s defense budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 seeks more than $1.2 billion for military space systems in low-Earth orbit.

According to budget documents released May 28, nearly $900 million of that investment is for the Space Development Agency’s communications network in low-Earth orbit (LEO) known as the Transport Layer. The Missile Defense Agency is seeking about $300 million for space sensors, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is requesting $42 million to deploy experimental satellites in LEO under the Blackjack program.

These agencies report to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and are not part of the U.S. Space Force, which has its own budget for research, development and procurement of new systems. But many of the LEO technologies developed by SDA, MDA and DARPA are expected to transition into larger Space Force programs.

Biden sniffing out more money for the defense budget

Space Development Agency

The Pentagon is seeking $936.7 million in 2022 for the SDA, about a $600 million increase from 2021. That includes $808.8 million for research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E), $53.8 million for operations and maintenance, and $74 million for procurement.
This is the first time that SDA gets a separate funding line for procurement.

The agency’s large spending boost was expected for 2022 as SDA prepares to launch the first batch of its Transport Layer satellites and moves ahead with the procurement of up to 150 satellites that would launch in 2024.

The 2022 request funds the demonstration of SDA’s first 28 satellites — 20 Transport Layer Tranche 0 satellites and eight wide-field-of-view space sensors to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles known as Tracking Layer Tranche 0.

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$2.2 Billion Budget Boost for Space Force

Article by Sandra Erwin                                             May 28, 2021                                                  (spacenews.com)

• On May 28th, the Pentagon unveiled details of Administrator Biden’s funding request for the coming 2022 fiscal year that begins on October 1st. Biden is asking Congress to approve $6 trillion in federal spending. The defense budget proposal for 2022 is $715 billion. $17.4 billion of that amount earmarked for the US Space Force, which is $2.2 billion more than what Congress enacted in 2021. Space Force accounts for about 2.5% of total Defense Department spending.

• Much of the $2.2 billion in additional funding to Space Force was transferred from the Air Force, Navy and Army, to be used for new investments in space systems. “Competitors like China and Russia are challenging America’s advantage in space by aggressively developing offensive weapons to deny or destroy U.S. space capabilities in conflict,” the Pentagon said. The Space Force budget “funds capabilities for the contested domain of space”.

• The $17.4 billion request for the Space Force excludes $930 million for personnel costs that are funded in the Air Force’s budget. The Space Force is expected to grow by about 2,000 people in 2022. The budget funds 12,000 personnel in 2022, including 8,400 active-duty military.

• $3.4 billion of the Space Force’s budget will go toward operations: the organization of Space Force headquarters and field commands, doctrine development and professional military education. $20 million will go toward the establishment of a National Space Intelligence Center. The budget proposal increases Space Force funding for research and development from $10.5 billion last year to $11.3 billion. Procurement also grows from $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion in 2022.

• Funding for the National Security Space Launch program includes $1.4 billion for five missions, compared to $1 billion for three missions in 2021. There is also $239 million for launch-related research and development. The five missions planned for 2022 will be split between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX.

 

WASHINGTON — President Biden’s $715 billion defense budget proposal for 2022 includes $17.4 billion for the U.S. Space Force, about $2.2 billion more than what Congress enacted in 2021.

The proposed $715 billion defense budget is $11.3 billion more than what Congress appropriated in 2021.

The Pentagon on May 28 unveiled details of the president’s funding request for the coming fiscal year that begins Oct 1. The White House is asking Congress to approve $6 trillion in federal spending.

The Space Force accounts for about 2.5% of total Defense Department spending. The $2.2 billion increase sought for 2022 represents a significant boost for the smallest branch of the armed forces established 18 months ago.

The Pentagon said the $2.2 billion in additional funding sought for the Space Force includes new investments in space systems and much of this funding was transferred from the Air Force, Navy and Army.

The president’s budget “funds capabilities for the contested domain of space,” the Pentagon said in budget documents released May 28. “Competitors like China and Russia are challenging America’s advantage in space by aggressively developing offensive weapons to deny or destroy U.S. space capabilities in conflict.”

The $17.4 billion request for the Space Force does not include $930 million for personnel costs that are funded in the Air Force’s budget. The Space Force would grow by about 2,000 people in 2022. The budget funds 12,000 personnel in 2022, including 8,400 active-duty military.

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Pentagon Officials Preparing to Launch ‘Space National Guard’

Article by Mark Moore                                                May 5, 2021                                              (nypost.com)

• Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told members of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday that he, acting Air Force Secretary John Roth and Space Force’s commander General Jay Raymond are expected to brief Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on creating a Space National Guard. Hokanson said that the Space National Guard was part of a “two-component construct” that would also include active-duty and Reserve Space Force. The creation of a Space National Guard would come two years after President Trump officially launched the Space Force in 2019.

• “National Guard space units have provided operational, unit-equipped, surge-to-war capability to protect our nation’s vital interests in this contested domain,” he told the Congressional panel. The Air National Guard has space units in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio as well as Guam. Hokanson pointed out that National Guard units have been involved with space missions for 25 years, and supply the Space Force with 11 percent of its professionals.

• But some lawmakers questioned the cost of such an endeavor. Committee Chair Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) told Hokanson that she would need to see a cost breakdown, an effort to distribute guard units in all 50 states, and the cross-utilization of existing Air Force facilities. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Defense Department would have to pick up about $100 million in additional costs of transferring Air National Guard and Army National Guard personnel to the Space National Guard.

 

            Gen. John “Jay” Raymond

Pentagon officials are poised to launch a separate Space National Guard — the

                  Gen. Daniel Hokanson

second military foray into the realm since former President Donald Trump established the Space Force in 2019, according to a report.

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told a House committee on Tuesday that creating a Space National Guard is “among my most pressing concerns,” Politico reported.

“I believe we’re fairly close on that,” Hokanson told members of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

He said the Space Force’s commander, Gen. Jay Raymond, and acting Air Force Secretary John Roth back a “two-component construct” that would combine active-duty and Reserve Space Force along with a Space National Guard.

acting Air Force Secretary John Roth

The three are expected to brief Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the initiative.

              Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)

The creation of a Space National Guard would come two years after Trump officially launched the Space Force — the first new military service in 70 years.

Hokanson said National Guard units have been involved with space missions for 25 years, and supply the Space Force with 11 percent of its professionals.

“National Guard space units have provided operational, unit-equipped, surge-to-war capability to protect our nation’s vital interests in this contested domain,” he told the panel in prepared remarks.

The Air National Guard has space units in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio as well as Guam, he said.

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US Military’s Need for Information Fueling Demand for Space Technology

Article by Sandra Erwin                                             April 25, 2021                                               (spacenews.com)

• In a clear sign that the demand for space-based capabilities is growing across the U.S. military, the US Army has announced plans to explore new uses of satellites and other space technology in support of soldiers on the ground. All the military services are looking at ways to use space to their advantage, said General David Thompson, vice chief of space operations of the US Space Force.

• The Space Force, created in 2019, is responsible for defending US satellites that foreign adversaries could target in a future conflict. Space Force also supports the US military with technologies like GPS navigation, satellite-based communications, surveillance and early warning.

• “Some people are jumping to the conclusion that they [the Army] will build and fly their own satellites,” said General Thompson. But other possibilities are being considered as well. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all want “the ability to get information from space” regardless of how it’s acquired. Thompson said that military leaders are discussing options for how new capabilities could be funded and brought to fruition. “There’s a whole host of ways that they can obtain the data they need from space to enable their tactical operations.”

• It remains to be seen if future budgets will support the Pentagon’s growing space systems wish lists. Funding for space capabilities has increased in recent. Across the military, the services have concluded that space systems give them the ability to capture information and share it quickly with forces around the world. All the services, the combatant commands and the Joint Staff are “in the process of identifying requirements that they need, that they expect the Space Force to be able to provide,” Thompson said.

• The budget request the Biden administration will submit for fiscal year 2022 is mostly wrapped up but “there’s a lot of work to do inside DoD and with the administration and with Congress,” Thompson said. “I think we’ll be in… the position we kind of sort of expected to be in. The challenge will be to see how it’s going to evolve in the future.” “We’re all on the same boat.”

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army last week announced plans to explore new uses of satellites and other space technology in

                 Gen. David Thompson

support of soldiers on the ground.

This is a clear sign that the demand for space-based capabilities is growing across the U.S. military, said Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force.

All the military services are looking at ways to use space to their advantage, Thompson said in an interview with SpaceNews.
“Part of this is a recognition of how critical space capabilities and information from space is going to be to the fight,” he said of the Army’s announcement that it plans to invest in space systems.

The Space Force was spun out the Air Force in 2019 to give the military a dedicated branch focused on space. It is responsible for defending U.S. satellites that foreign adversaries could target in a future conflict, and the Space Force supports the U.S. military at large with technologies like GPS navigation, satellite-based communications, surveillance and early warning.

Thompson said Space Force and Army leaders are discussing options for how new capabilities could be funded and brought to fruition. “There’s a whole host of ways that they can obtain the data they need from space to enable their tactical operations,” said Thompson.

“Some people are jumping to the conclusion that they [the Army] will build and fly their own satellites,” he said. But other possibilities are being considered as well.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all want “the ability to get information from space” regardless of how it’s acquired, said Thompson.

“There is no question the Army recognizes that space capabilities, that information from space are vital to joint war fighting,” said Thompson. “It’s vital to the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marines as well.”

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Russia’s Outer Space Agreement With U.S.A.

April 3, 2021                                                   (presstv.com)

• In a move to avoid a new era of arms race in the outer space, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved the extension of the ‘Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes’ agreement with the United States. A Russian press service said: “The extension of the agreement meets both countries’ interests and will facilitate the effective implementation of joint space projects.”

• The treaty was originally signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and US President George H.W. Bush on June 17, 1992. The agreement as extended will be in place until the end of 2030.

• Under the agreement, world powers are not allowed to place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space orbit and must avoid harmful contamination of space. Outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means, according to the document.

• US President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force, calling for American “dominance in space.” Space Force also became a full member of the US intelligence community. Following suit, both Russia and China are developing similar military capabilities as they seek to field the technology and erode America’s military dominance. Moscow and Beijing have proposed a treaty that prohibits the deployment of ground-based and space-based weapons targeting satellites in the space and are pushing Washington to sign it.

 

        Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved the extension of the Exploration and Use

               Boris Yeltsin

of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes, the cabinet’s press service said in a statement on Saturday.

“The agreement …on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes will be in place until December 31, 2030,” it said.

“The extension of the agreement meets both countries’ interests and will facilitate the effective implementation of joint space projects.”

President Trump creating Space Force

The treaty was originally signed by then Russian President Boris Yeltsin and US President George W. Bush on June 17, 1992, in Washington.

Under the agreement, world powers are not allowed to place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or in the outer space and must

            George H.W. Bush

avoid harmful contamination of space.

The outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means, according to the document.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force – the first new US military branch in 72 years – calling for his country’s “dominance in space.”

The Treaty, the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects (PPWT), bans deployment of “any weapons in outer space.”

The PPWT signatories may not “resort to the threat or use of force against outer space objects” or engage in activities “inconsistent” with the purpose of the treaty.

 

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US & Russia Discuss How to Avoid Tensions in Space

Article by Jacqueline Feldscher                                          March 24, 2021                                           (politico.com)

• Despite the fact that the two nations’ civilian space programs work closely together on the International Space Station, the US and Russia have had multiple skirmishes in space. In February 2020, Chief of Space Operations General Jay Raymond announced that a pair of Russian satellites was following a US space satellite too closely in orbit. In July, Raymond condemned a Russian weapons test designed to blow up assets in orbit.

• Space Force leaders have emphasized the importance of drafting international norms of behavior in space to ensure all nations can operate safely. Space Force’s Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt said that officials from the Pentagon and State Department are drafting language to send to the U.N. on responsible space behavior.

• On March 23rd, at Washington’s request, representatives from the US and Russia held an online video meeting to discuss responsible behaviors in space. It is unclear, however, who from the US participated in the discussion with Russia. A senior Biden administration official said, “It is a shared interest of all nations to act responsibly in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”

• The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying that the video meeting covered “a wide range of issues related to the security of space activities.” Both Russia and the US say they want to hold future meetings to make progress on the topic. “We look forward to future discussions to build mutual trust with Russia and other space-faring nations to work toward responsible norms of behaviors in space,” the unnamed senior administration official said.

 

            Gen. John “Jay” Raymond

Representatives from the U.S. and Russia met on Tuesday to discuss responsible

             Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt

behaviors in space, a senior administration official told POLITICO.

Washington requested the meeting, the official said, adding that the discussion was “at a technical level.”

Tensions in orbit: The U.S. and Russia have had multiple skirmishes in space, despite the fact that the two nations’ civilian space programs work closely together on the International Space Station. In February 2020, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond announced that a pair of Russian satellites was closely following a U.S. space satellite in orbit, a behavior he called “unusual and disturbing.”

More recently, Raymond condemned a Russian test of a weapon in July that is designed to blow up assets in orbit.

Space Force leaders have emphasized the importance of drafting international norms of behavior in space to ensure all nations can operate safely. Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, the commander of U.S. Space Command’s combined force space component, told Space News last month that officials from the Pentagon and State Department are drafting language to send to the U.N. on responsible space behavior.

The meeting: It’s unclear who from the U.S. participated in the discussion with Russia.

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New Paper Reveals How UK is Making Plans for War in Space

Article by Kit Klarenberg                                        March 25, 2021                                       (rt.com)

• In 1997, the US Space Command’s ‘Vision for 2020’ forecast that space power would evolve into a “medium of warfare” during “the early portion of the 21st century”. Washington being able to “control” and “dominate” space in order to “deny other nations access”, was considered a top priority. Barack Obama escalated deployments of ‘first-strike’ missile defense systems encircling Russia and China in range to strike ground stations that communicate with orbiting military satellites. In March 2018, Donald Trump broached the creation of a ‘Space Force’, and in August 2018 the US’s 2019 National Defense Authorization Act repeatedly referenced “space warfighting operations” and plans to create a “unified command for space” under US Strategic Command.

• Now the UK wants to get in on the action. On March 22, the UK government published its ‘Defence Command Paper 2021’, outlining London’s grand vision for its “role in the world over the next decade” in respect of military and intelligence capabilities and operations. “Space, and our assured access to it, is fundamental to military operations,” the paper reads. “We must develop military, civilian and commercial capabilities that are resilient to and protected from space threats. We must also help shape an international environment of behaviours and operating norms that deters adversaries.”

• By 2030, the UK intends to have “the ability to monitor, protect and defend” its interests “in and through space”. Over the next 10 years, a total of £5 billion will be invested in Skynet, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) network of military communications satellites, which supports the Five Eyes global spying apparatus. £1.4 billion will be spent establishing a dedicated space command, launch a National Space Operations Centre, develop an “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite constellation”, and create a “Space Academy” to train Britain’s new army of “space specialists”.

• In May 2020, then-MoD Permanent Secretary Sir Stephen Lovegrove told a parliamentary committee that space was “now recognized as a warfighting domain.” The Defence Command Paper states that UK military and intelligence capabilities will from now on be fully integrated across “space, cyberspace, maritime, land and air”. By August of 2020, Royal Air Force officers began training at the US Space Command’s Space Defense Operations Center in California.

• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace consistently frames UK space-combat capacity as inherently defensive in nature. But in April 2019, a mysterious aircraft crash-landed in the West Australian outback. It was revealed to be a state-of-the-art experimental solar-powered surveillance drone, produced by aerospace firm Airbus for the MoD. The craft has a 25m wingspan and is capable of flying unmanned at a height of over 65,000 feet – twice the altitude of a commercial airliner, at the very edge of space.

• China and Russia have repeatedly presented draft treaties to the United Nations calling for a ban on the deployment of conventional weapons in space, and a prohibition on the use of force in and from space and against spacecraft. Despite being supported by an overwhelming number of UN member states, the proposals were consistently rebuffed by Washington.

• The UK’s updated defense priorities are Britain’s own contribution to this determined push to transform space into a dangerous battleground. By Ben Wallace’s own admission, there is “limited international agreement on norms and conventions” relating to the regulation of space technology, combined with “a lack of ethical standards to encourage their responsible use”. A cynic might suggest that, in fact, Whitehall intends to exploit these regulatory and moral shortfalls to its own advantage.

 

Space battles are the stuff of science fiction, but recent technological and political

 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace

developments have done much to make the prospect an ever more likely reality – and it’s clear the UK wants to get in on the action.

On March 22, the UK government published its Defence Command Paper 2021, a 76-page document offering further clarity on the previous week’s Integrated Review, which outlined London’s grand vision for its “role in the world over the next decade” in respect of military and intelligence capabilities and operations.

                  Sir Stephen Lovegrove

An accompanying foreword authored by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – former British Army soldier and director of military technology firm QinetiQ, who has previously condoned torture – spells out the paper’s disturbing dimensions in some detail.

Strikingly, it contained dozens of references to space in a military context. The heavens were said to be of growing significance as an operational and “warfighting” domain – a dedicated section describing Whitehall’s plans to secure dominance in the sphere.

“Space, and our assured access to it, is fundamental to military operations. Loss of, or disruption to, the space domain could severely impact our ability to undertake most defence tasks,” it read. “We must develop military, civilian and commercial capabilities that are resilient to and protected from space threats. We must also help shape an international environment of behaviours and operating norms that deters adversaries.”

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Relativity Space Wins US Military Launch Services Contract

Article by Sandra Erwin                                             March 15, 2021                                         (spacenews.com)

• Space Force’s ‘Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Enterprise’ (SMSCLE) was looking for a third launch services provider to carry payloads into low Earth orbit for the DoD Space Test Program’s ‘Rapid Agile Launch Initiative’ (RALI) in 2023. A SMSCLE subdivision, the ‘Defense Innovation Unit’ (DIU), is tasked with finding suitable providers in the private sector.

• DIU’s space portfolio director, Steve Butow, said the military is looking for “low-cost, responsive launch services that not only improve our access to space, but it also enable small satellites to be placed precisely in their mission designed orbits with little if no delay.” The DIU previously hired two launch services companies for RALI, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit.

• On March 9th, CEO Tim Ellis announced that his company, Relativity Space, had been selected by the DIU to become the third launch provider for the RALI program since its inception in 2017.

• Relativity Space will launch relatively small military payloads to lower inclination orbits utilizing its new Terran 1 rocket, which will see its first test flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida later this year. Relativity Space builds its rockets with 3D-printed components at its factory in Long Beach, California. The company recently announced plans to develop a larger Terran R reusable launch vehicle to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

 

WASHINGTON — Relativity Space was selected to launch a small U.S. military payload to orbit in 2023 using a 3D-printed rocket.
The company in a statement March 15 said it received its first Defense Department contract to launch a DoD Space Test Program mission. The award was first announced March 9 by Relativity’s CEO Tim Ellis in an interview with CNBC.

        Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis

The Defense Innovation Unit — an organization that works with commercial companies and startups — picked Relativity to become a launch services provider for the DoD Space Test Program’s Rapid Agile Launch Initiative. RALI is a program managed by the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Enterprise to identify viable commercial launch systems with capacity between 450 to 1,200 kilograms to low Earth orbit.

                        Steve Butow

Both Relativity and DIU declined to disclose the value of the contract.

Relativity builds its rockets with 3D-printed components at its factory in Long Beach, California. For the DoD mission it will use the Terran 1 small satellite launcher that is expected to fly for the first time later this year from Cape Canaveral, Florida. DoD is the ninth announced launch customer for Terran 1 and the second U.S. government deal following a NASA Venture Class Launch Services contract.

Relativity is the third launch provider selected by DIU for the RALI program since it started in 2017. The other two are Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit.

Steve Butow, DIU’s space portfolio director, said the military is looking for “low-cost, responsive launch services that not only improve our access to space, but it also enable small satellites to be placed precisely in their mission designed orbits with little if no delay.”

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Does Biden Take Space Seriously?

Article by Charles Beams                                           March 12, 2021                                            (politico.com)

• In 2017, President Trump resurrected the National Space Council where senior government and industry leadership would plan and organize the U.S. and the world roles in a new ‘space century’. Putting the Vice President in charge was vital to the council’s integrity. Now, the Biden administration’s decision to assign oversight of space to the National Security Council has fueled speculation that the high-level National Space Council will be discontinued.

• Does Administrator Biden and his senior advisers truly appreciate the gravity of the situation and the opportunities before us in the final frontier? Seventeen industry groups representing hundreds of companies critical to our nation’s space future have recently endorsed keeping the National Space Council. They says that retaining the council “will provide stability and continuity to the United States’ space endeavors, enabling historic exploration and scientific achievement”. Its continuation would reflect that space is indeed a real priority.

• Serious questions regarding space need to be addressed in the next few years. These will require senior attention and active support across the Executive Branch. Should one person, ie: Elon Musk, monopolize the commercial space sector? Or should it be regulated to encourage small business growth in space? How should we encourage fair play among nations in space? How should we respond to anti-competitive Chinese business practices? And how can we prevent the growing menace of space debris from inhibiting future generations’ expansion into space?

• One specific policy issue that the National Space Council would manage is the evolution of the United States Space Force. Space Force is charged with protecting and ensuring free and fair access to space and defending contested domains where commercial companies and developing nations are increasingly operating. Space Force must create a culture to recruit and retain world class intellects and leaders to guide a developing military domain that is more defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous robotics and machine learning, than bullets and bombs. In the coming decades, Space Force must become a military service that understands, partners with, and sometimes puts commercial and civil needs before warfighting requirements. Guidance from the highest levels is essential for the Space Force to be successful.

• To date, however, no senior appointees have been nominated for the most senior space positions, including the NASA administrator or the space policy and space acquisition positions in the Pentagon. Without the high-level attention of a strong National Space Council, low earth orbit will become a no man’s land of discarded satellite and rocket debris, exploited only by the ultra-wealthy. The unique ability of the space sector to promote commerce, enhance international trade, strengthen diplomacy, and prevent military conflict will be lost.

• If the Biden administration cannot see the value in the National Space Council to lead a coherent space policy for a new century, it should disband it. Pretending it is important while assigning it no clear purpose would be a waste of time and resources, and actually hamper progress in space. The decisions the Biden administration makes regarding the National Space Council, Space Force, NASA and commercial space policies will determine whether space will remain a safe, nonpartisan domain for an economy to flourish or will become an inhospitable orbital minefield where only military hegemons joust for supremacy.

 

                National Space Council

The early signs coming from the Biden administration have more than a few of us

                  groper-in-chief Biden

worried about its approach to space policy.

The decision to assign oversight of space to the National Security Council has fueled speculation that the high-level National Space Council will be discontinued. And it comes at a time when a similar lack of seriousness by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and her flippant comments about the Space Force are playing out in the media.

The two recent events beg the question: do President Joe Biden and his senior advisers truly appreciate the gravity of the situation and the opportunities before us in the final frontier?

The rumors of dismantling of the National Space Council should give us all pause. Resurrecting the council in 2017 and putting the vice president in charge was vital to focusing senior government and industry leadership on organizing the U.S. and the world for a space century.

Which is exactly why 17 industry groups representing hundreds of companies critical to our nation’s space future have recently endorsed keeping it. Retaining the council “will provide stability and continuity to the United States’ space endeavors, enabling historic exploration and scientific achievement,” they wrote in their letter to President Biden’s chief of staff. Its continuation would reflect that space is a real priority for our new president.

Serious space questions need to be addressed in the next few years that require senior attention and active support across the executive branch.

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Space Force’s Operational Anti-Satellite Weapon

Article by Thom Dunn                                      March 8, 2021                                       (boingboing.net)

• In May 2020, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Space Force was necessary because “our adversaries in the last several years have weaponized space. They’ve made it a warfighting domain.” It has been assumed that Space Force is unique among US military branches in that it has no overt space weapons. But creating a branch of the military for the explicit purpose of war in space suggests that the US is planning for more in space than it is disclosing.

• Military technologist Kelsey Atherton pointed out in Slate online magazine, however, that Space Force does in fact have one publicly disclosed space weapon: the “Counter Communications System Block 10.2. or ‘the jammer’ (pictured above). The jammer is a device on Earth that is able to jam satellite data communications in low earth orbit. (see article here). Space Force describes it as: “a transportable space electronic warfare system that reversibly denies adversary satellite communications”. Becoming operational on March 9, 2020, the jammer is a way to exert hostile control over other objects in orbit, both civilian and military, without blowing them up (and creating space debris). The US military considers the jammer a space weapon.

• In the ‘traffic cop’ version of the Space Force, it is less a military branch fighting wars than a military branch that sees itself as enforcing the day-to-day law in space orbit – whether they be satellites owned by countries or companies. The Space Force intends to exercise dominion over both. Space Force doesn’t even need to do anything with the jammer device. Its mere existence is an act of aggressive defense, which infers that a course is set for extending terrestrial conflicts into space. And there’s no turning back from that.

 

                        “Jammers”

I’ve been following the work of military technologist Kelsey Atherton for years, and I’ve always enjoyed his insights into the most fascinating and horrifying aspects of the defense industry. In a recent article for Slate’s Future Tense section, Atherton explored the theoretical future of Space Force, and how the Biden administration could potential handle the Trump administration’s curious sci-fi vanity project. He then expounded upon the topic in his newsletter.

        Kelsey Atherton

Initially, Atherton had written in Slate: The Space Force is unique among military branches in that it has no (publicly acknowledged) weapons. Nevertheless, creating a new branch of the military for the explicit purpose of war in space suggests to other countries that the United States is planning for more in orbit than it is disclosing. Treating satellites like forts and orbits like territory risks war and, ultimately, the destruction of orbit as a useful space.

While the Pentagon has not adopted Trump’s exact language on the Space Force, in May 2020

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Space Force was necessary because “our adversaries in the last several years have weaponized space. They’ve made it a warfighting domain.”

But, as he acknowledged in his newsletter, this was a mista

ke—one that could potentially change the future of the Space Force: “I, in my error, initially filed a story claiming Space Force has no publicly disclosed weapons. It in fact has one: the “Counter Communications System Block 10.2,” a kind of jammer o̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶a̶t̶e̶l̶l̶i̶t̶e̶, that became operational March 9th, 2020. As weapons go, jammers sit above compromised computers and below blown-up objects, so while it doesn’t have the same immediate threat of a space gun, it matters that the Space Force sees it as a weapon and wants to talk about it as such.”

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Space Force Weighing Options to Space Attacks

Article by Rachel S. Cohen                                           March 3, 2021                                           (airforcemag.com)

• During a National Press Club event on March 3rd, Chief of Space Operations General John W. “Jay” Raymond said that U.S. officials are trying to hash out the ground rules for space combat. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for what could be considered an act of war or a ‘proportional response’. “I think it depends on the strategic context that’s going on in the world,” said Raymond.

• There’s no such thing as a “space war,” Raymond said. “It’s just war. How nations might choose to conduct operations in that war, that conflict, either on the sea, or in the air, or on the ground, or now in space, … is just integrated into that larger strategic conflict.”

• “You can’t put weapons of mass destruction in orbit, and you can’t militarize a planet, a celestial body. Other than that, there’s no rules,” Raymond said. That ambiguity may complicate global discussions of norms of behavior in outer space. Space Force is trying to drive that conversation to constrain bad behavior and shape a common understanding of what’s acceptable on orbit. “I’m not naive to think, if there was a set of norms of behavior, that everybody’s going to follow them,” said Raymond.

• “The challenge for space strategists is to anticipate how this gradual shift from… information operations to physical operations will proceed,” a recent report on space defense from the Center for Strategic and International Security (CSIS) pointed out. “Further analysis and gaming are needed to explore… when it is advantageous (or not) to do nothing in response to an attack or threat of attack.”

• Though Space Force is quick to note various technologies in development by China, Russia and others that could look to damage U.S. assets, Raymond declined to talk about what offensive and defensive capabilities his service has in the works. The CSIS report recommended that Space Force own “non-kinetic active defenses, such as onboard jamming and lasing systems, … to thwart kinetic attacks against high-value satellites.”

• “A physical seizure capability should also be explored,” the report added, “that could double as a (non-aggressive) inspector and on-orbit servicing satellite,” such as the Russian spacecraft which Moscow said was an inspector satellite and test-fired an anti-satellite weapon in space last year.

• Raymond noted that Space Force will debut its plan for streamlining the Pentagon’s space acquisition agencies in “another week or so,” and that he expects to see a Space Force dress uniform prototype in about a month. Officials will finalize which parts of the Army and Navy departments will transfer to the Space Force in the next couple of months.

• Despite less discussion on the subject from the Biden White House, the federal government’s renewed emphasis on space superiority and exploration hasn’t waned, Raymond said. “This is not a political issue,” he stressed. “This is about our national security and the foundation of all instruments of national power, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to build this service.”

 

U.S. officials are trying to hash out the ground rules for extraterrestrial combat more than a year after standing up a Space Force to fend off threats on orbit.

       General John W. “Jay” Raymond

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for what actions by a satellite could be considered an act of war. Proportional response in a war that extends to space will depend on a broader context than earlier conflicts where the U.S. might respond to a barrage of rockets with its own airstrike, the Space Force’s top general said March 3. The U.S. could counter a satellite attack with a strike in cyberspace or against terrestrial facilities, for example.

“I think it depends on the strategic context that’s going on in the world,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said during an event hosted by the National Press Club.

There’s no such thing as a “space war,” he said—it’s just war.
“How nations might choose to conduct operations in that war, that conflict, either on the sea, or in the air, or on the ground, or now in space, … is just integrated into that larger strategic conflict,” Raymond said.

That ambiguity may complicate global discussions of norms of behavior in outer space as more countries grow their civil, military, and industrial presence away from Earth. The Space Force is trying to drive that conversation to constrain bad behavior and shape a common understanding of what’s acceptable on orbit.

“You can’t put weapons of mass destruction in orbit, and you can’t militarize a planet, a celestial body. Other than that, there’s no rules,” Raymond said. “I’m not naive to think, if there was a set of norms of behavior, that everybody’s going to follow them.”

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Space Force’s International Partnerships in Commercial Space Industry

Article by Meredith Roaten                                          February 25, 2021                                              (nationaldefensemagazine.org)

• At the Air Force Association’s Virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium on February 25th, Space Force chief of operations, General John “Jay” Raymond, said that Space Force will prioritize collaboration with the commercial space industry and partners around the world. The commercial space industry has lowered the barriers to space, so that almost all Space Force missions can be commercially viable with smaller, more operationally relevant satellites, Raymond said. “We want to build a very fused connection with commercial industry.”

• In its first year, the Space Force transferred personnel and commissioned cadets to the service; published doctrine and set up monitoring systems to track space debris; fleshed out training and submitted recommendations to Congress about how to update the space acquisition process. “This second year is all about integration and integrating this force,” Raymond said. “It’s driving the car that we built.” Space Force is ready to move on to bolstering behavioral norms with international allies and launching more assets into space.

• Space Force’s structure allows it to work with industry to leverage technology innovation while saving money. Earlier this year, Space Force established ‘SpaceWERX’, a technology accelerator program that works with companies in the space industry. “As we design that force, we want to design it in a way that capitalizes on this new business model that has emerged, that produces satellites off of a production line, rather than the one-off, handmade wooden shoe that takes years and years and years to build,” Raymond said.

• International exercises and wargames have helped the service foster these norms in the past year. Strengthening norms of behavior for space operations alongside international partners will improve safety, Raymond said. Norms don’t prevent bad behavior but they draw attention to countries or companies operating in a dangerous way. “We’ve made some really good strides and we operate to demonstrate that good behavior,” said Raymond. “We want to build this coalition friendly from the beginning to allow our international partners to invest.”

• Meanwhile, Raymond noted that the “explosion” of the space industry and international space activity has created new problems in ‘space debris’ or ‘space junk’. There are thousands of pieces of debris in addition to the thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit, creating the danger of collision. “If the space domain is something we all care about, then inventing some innovative way to get the debris out of space could be something very useful for the future,” Raymond said. Improving engineering and launch standards will help to prevent more debris buildup. International partners can also monitor space and warn each other about potentially dangerous debris.

 

This year, the Space Force will prioritize collaboration with the commercial space industry and partners around the world, the

           General John “Jay” Raymond

service’s chief of operations said Feb. 25.

These types of partnerships have and will continue to allow the United States to lead the world in space, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond said at the Air Force Association’s Virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium. The service — the newest branch of the military — was stood up 14 months ago.

In its first year, the Space Force transferred personnel and commissioned cadets to the service. It also published doctrine and set up monitoring systems to track space debris, among other capabilities. The service also fleshed out training for its new personnel and submitted recommendations to Congress about how to update the space acquisition process.

“This second year is all about integration and integrating this force,” Raymond said. “It’s driving the car that we built.”

Now, the service is ready to move on to bolstering behavioral norms with international allies and launching more assets into space. Because the commercial industry has lowered the barriers to space, almost all Space Force missions can be commercially viable with smaller, more operationally relevant satellites, he said.

                            Space Junk

“We want to build a very fused connection with commercial industry,” he said.

The service’s structure should allow it to work with industry to leverage technology innovation while saving money, he noted.

“As we design that force, we want to design it in a way that capitalizes on this new business model that has emerged, that produces satellites off of a production line, rather than the one-off, handmade wooden shoe that takes years and years and years to build,” Raymond said.

Earlier this year, the service established SpaceWERX, a technology accelerator program that works with companies in the space industry. The technology areas of focus for the program will be announced in coming weeks.

The service will also grow partnerships with allies this year, Raymond noted. Strengthening norms of behavior for space operations alongside international partners will improve safety, he said.

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Russia and China Ready to Sign Deal to Build First Moon Base, Snubbing US

Article by Olivia Burke                                                 February 18, 2021                                            (thesun.co.uk)

• On February 11th, the Russian Federation announced plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with China to collaborate on a series of International Lunar Research Stations (ILRS) or ‘Moon bases’, as proposed by the Chinese. Both countries will carry out preparatory research throughout the 2020s with the aim of establishing Moon bases at the Moon’s south pole in the early 2030s. The bases will initially be populated by robots and will provide a long-term presence on the Moon for short crewed missions in the early 2030s, and a longer-term sustained human presence anticipated to begin between 2036-2045. The U.S. has not been asked to participate.

• The Chinese and Russians plan to use the lunar base to aid the “construction and operation of human’s first sharing platform in the lunar south pole, supporting long-term, large-scale scientific exploration, technical experiments and development and utilization of lunar resources.” The robotic base will potentially incorporate the expertise of other nations as well, who will contribute their own spacecrafts.

• Pand Zhihao, a former researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology, praised, “Russia’s expertises, including liquid oxygen kerosene engine technology as well as a complete, world-beating system for astronaut training, will all no doubt accelerate the program’s advancement.” Russia’s state corporation for space activities, Roscosmos, said the official announcement set to coincide with the Global Space Exploration Conference in 2021, held in St. Petersburg.

• Humans have not set foot on the Moon since the NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. The Americans have been planning to resume settlement of the Moon under the Artemis Accords, pledging to send astronauts back there by 2024. The Russians, however, do not favor the Artemis Accords because it proposes a global legal framework for mining on the Moon, which the Russians liken to colonialism. Roscosmos’ deputy general director for international cooperation, Sergey Saveliev, remarked, “There have already been examples in history when one country decided to start seizing territories in its (own) interest — everyone remembers what came of it.”

• It is also believed that Russia was reluctant to back the Artemis Accords plan due to the Lunar Gateway element – a small orbiting space station and communication hub similar to the ISS. U.S. legislation implemented in 2011 prohibits China from participating with the International Space Station partnership. And it is thought that the Trump Administration further isolated the U.S. from its international allies by unilaterally creating the Space Force.

• NASA’s Artemis Accords have the cooperation and support of Australia, Canada, England, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, and the UAE. “The Artemis Accords have driven China and Russia toward increased cooperation in space out of fear and necessity,” said former Congressional legislative director Elya Taichman.

• China made history in 2019 by becoming the first country to land on the dark side of the Moon. The European Space Agency is said to be closely monitoring the ILRS program in anticipation of joining. It is feared that a China-Russia-European consortium could knock NASA off the top spot as the international leader of space exploration.

 

RUSSIA and China are joining forces as they prepare to sign a historic deal to build the first moon base after they snubbed the US.

                             Apollo 17

The two countries are to collaborate on the international lunar structure, which was thought up by China – the latest build in the space-race against America.

The purpose of the International Lunar Research Stations (ILRS), is to create a long-term robotic presence on the Moon by the start of the next decade, before eventually establishing a sustained human presence.

           Elya Taichman

An Order of the Government of the Russian Federation detailing the scheme was published on February 11, but the “date to sign the above mentioned MoU has not been determined yet and is currently discussed with the Chinese partners.”

Humans have not set foot on the moon since December 1972, when Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan made tracks on it during an

     Sergey Saveliev

Apollo 17 mission.

Both countries will carry out the research, beginning with China’s upcoming Chang’e-6, -7, and -8 missions and Russia’s Luna 27 probe.

They plan to use the lunar base to aid the “construction and operation of human’s first sharing platform in the lunar south pole, supporting long-term, large-scale scientific exploration, technical experiments and development and utilisation of lunar resources.”

China and Russia plan that in the early 2030s, the ILRS development will theoretically provide a base for long-term robotic presence on the Moon with the potential for short crewed missions.

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Why Has NASA Not Sent Anyone to Mars?

Article by Jess Romeo                                            February 10, 2021                                           (daily.jstor.org)

• In 1969, humans first set foot on the Moon. With each step, the entire universe seemed to open up. Where would NASA and its brave astronauts go next? “At the time of the Moon landing, it was generally expected that the United States would quickly go on to Mars,” writes aerospace engineer and founder of the Mars Society Robert Zubrin.

• As Zubrin relates in The New Atlantis: “Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins recalled thinking ‘perhaps I could help [NASA] plan a Mars mission’. Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man on the Moon, remembered feeling that ‘it wasn’t unreasonable to hope’ he’d be assigned to a Mars-bound crew. Gene Cernan, the twelfth and last man on the Moon, recounted with sadness the time that he finally faced the facts: ‘I’m not going to Mars.’”

• In the half-century following Apollo 11, NASA’s human spaceflight program stagnated. After 1972, no astronaut would stray further than 300 miles from Earth.

• People might blame this lack of human spaceflight on waning public support for the endeavor, lack of funding for NASA, or the fickleness of a democratic government during peacetime. But Zubrin is of a different mind. Historically, Zubrin argues, public support played a relatively small role in the space program in the 1960s. Lack of money is no excuse either. NASA actually has significantly more money today (adjusted for inflation) than it did when it first sent astronauts to the moon.

• As for that democratic “fickleness”, Zubrin points out that “many great things have been accomplished by democratic means during times of peace in the United States, including massive public works like the Erie Canal, the Hoover Dam, and the Interstate Highway System.”

• The real problem is what Zubrin calls a “change in mode of operation.” After Apollo 11, NASA lost sight of its clear, driving purpose. Human spaceflight projects became aimless and slow-moving. NASA has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the past half-century with very little results. George H.W. Bush’s ‘Space Exploration Initiative’ in 1989 quickly collapsed. Barack Obama’s ‘Journey to Mars’ had no specific deadlines to accomplish anything. And despite establishing Space Force, the Trump administration’s ambitions were vague and Mars was never a top priority.

• Nowadays, Earth’s interaction with the Red Planet begins and ends with robots. But with people like Elon Musk vowing to colonize the Moon by 2026, perhaps the dream is closer than it seems.

• [Editor’s Note]  The facts given in this article point to the causes for the NASA space program’s stagnation over the past fifty years, but not the underlying reason. The reason is that the deep state elite who presided over the creation of vast and competing secret space programs were incredibly greedy. They wanted to keep all of the advanced extraterrestrial technologies, to which they were exposed through their off-planet exploits, only to themselves. So in the 1950s, they set up the “civilian” NASA under the authority of the military industrial complex and invented a “Moon mission” using outdated rocket technology, while they continued to develop their secret space programs using advanced electromagnetic anti-gravity warp drive propulsion technology. Once the deep state put on their Apollo 11 show in 1969 and gave the world a bone to keep them quiet, they came up with other sinister ways to divert the public’s attention over the decades. Deep state agents used any excuse to discredit any real-world space program through the influence of a complicit media (just as they discredited the UFO phenomenon), paving the way for complicit legislators to give space activities the lowest priority. But don’t be fooled. There are millions of people currently residing on the Moon, Mars, and many other celestial bodies within and outside of our solar system.

 

In 1969, humans first set foot on the Moon. With each step, the entire universe seemed to open up. Where would NASA and its

             Elon Musk and Robert Zubrin

brave astronauts go next? As it turns out, nowhere. In the half-century following Apollo 11, NASA’s human spaceflight program stagnated. Even our closest planetary neighbor, Mars, seems like an impossible destination—but this wasn’t always the case.

“At the time of the Moon landing, it was generally expected that the United States would quickly go on to Mars,” writes aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society and advocate for human exploration of Mars. As Zubrin relates in The New Atlantis: “Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins recalled thinking “
‘perhaps I could help them [NASA] plan’ a Mars mission. Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man on the Moon, remembered feeling that ‘it wasn’t unreasonable to hope’ he’d be assigned to a Mars-bound crew. Gene Cernan, the twelfth and last man on the Moon, recounted with sadness the time that he “finally faced the facts: ‘I’m not going to Mars.’”

                        Michael Collins

After 1972, no astronaut would stray further than 300 miles from Earth.

People might blame this lack of human spaceflight on waning public support for the endeavor, lack of funding for NASA, or the

fickleness of a democratic government during peacetime. Zubrin is of a different mind: “Each of these explanations is intuitively plausible,” he argues, “But […] taken together, they amount to a profound misunderstanding of how democratic peoples can do great things.”

Historically, Zubrin argues, public support played a relatively small role in the space program in the 1960s. “An analysis by historian Roger Launius found that […] lunar exploration in general almost never enjoyed majority support in contemporary polls.” Lack of money is no excuse either, Zubrin adds, as NASA actually has significantly more money today (adjusted for inflation) than it did when it first sent astronauts to the moon.

As for that democratic “fickleness,” Zubrin points out that “many great things have been accomplished by democratic means during times of peace in the United States, including massive public works like the Erie Canal, the Hoover Dam, and the Interstate Highway System.”

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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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Space Force Exists to Meet Threats in Space Domain

Article by David Vergun                                             January 22, 2021                                          (defense.gov)

• Speaking at a National Security Space Association “Space Time” online event on January 22nd, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General John E. Hyten characterized the US Space Force as ‘critical’ to national security, given the threats to US access and capability in space posed by Russia and China. Critical space assets include GPS; missile warning; reconnaissance; and position, navigation and timing.

• “Russia and China are building capabilities to challenge us in space because if they can challenge us in space, …they can challenge us as a nation,” Hyten said. “Therefore, it is our responsibility as leaders of the defense enterprise to make sure that we continue to educate the population about the threats that we face and, then put forth recommendations to deal with those threats in a rapid, responsive way” – with emphasis on agility and adaptability.

• Hyten notes that Russia and China are both building antisatellite weapons and other military space assets at an alarmingly fast rate. As a result, the Pentagon has to go just as quickly in defining joint requirements and delivering capable systems to counter the threat. And in doing so, “you have to accept a certain amount of risk”.

• Hyten says there is bipartisan support for the Space Force, and he expects the newest service, along with Space Command, to continue to make great strides in the new administration.

 

     General John E. Hyten

Threats by Russia and China to deny U.S. access and capability in space make the Space Force critical to national security, said the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, spoke at an online National Security Space Association “Space Time” event today.

Critical space assets include GPS; missile warning; reconnaissance; and position, navigation and timing.

“Russia and China are building capabilities to challenge us in space because if they can challenge us in space, they understand as dependent as we are in space capabilities that they can challenge us as a nation,” Hyten said.

“Therefore, it is our responsibility as leaders of the defense enterprise to make sure that we continue to educate the population about the threats that we face and, then, put forth recommendations to deal with those threats in a rapid, responsive way,” he said.

In a time of conflict, DOD must deny adversaries access to space while maintaining its own freedom to maneuver in that domain, he mentioned.

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New Intelligence Community Member Space Force is Looking For a Clearer Picture

Article by Scott Maucione                                       January 7, 2021                                         (federalnewsnetwork.com)

• The Space Force announced last month that it would become the 18th member of the US intelligence community. It still needs to submit its plans to Congress on how it will go about making the move. The Space Force’s two core space squadrons — space analysis and counter space analysis — are currently located at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson AFB (see previous ExoArticle here). During the next year, the Pentagon will set up a National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC) focused on space.

• But the Pentagon wants to maintain the information ‘synergy’ that comes with all of these squadrons being able to interact on a daily basis and talk to each other, says Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, Air Force director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance. So while NSIC will be separate from NASIC, their office will remain in the same building. Lauderback said the Air Force and Space Force are looking into the engineering and modeling to best maintain the two centers together.

• Space Force’s intelligence sector will be joining an already crowded community of 17 departments and agencies. Lauderback says that Space Force needs more sensors and presence in Earth’s orbit in order to characterize threats in space. “It’s just is so much more difficult in trying to characterize something that happens 12,000 miles away …that flies over the earth once every 90 minutes, all through technical means,” says Lauderback. “I just want to be able to make a more confident call and in a faster manner.” Another priority is bettering international agreements and education with Five Eye partners and other allies.

• Space Force has already received 2,400 recruits from the ranks of the Air Force. Space Force has just graduated its first seven enlisted trainees straight from basic training. Another 86 Air Force Academy cadets have been commissioned into Space Force, and there are 6,400 Air Force personnel who still plan to move over to the new military branch. “[N]ext year, we’ll have 98 cadets that will come over,” says Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond. “[W]e’re interviewing every single person that comes into the Space Force to be very, very selective.”

• Space Force is comprised of six career fields: Space operations, cyber operators, acquisition, engineering, cyber and intelligence. “[N]ow we have to develop those folks to fill those positions and do that organically,” says Gen. Raymond. “As new missions come about, we will add squadrons. [W]ith the units that were already in the Air Force, bringing them over, [we will] develop the manpower that fills those units today.”

 

         Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback

New details are emerging on how the 18th member of the intelligence community will be set up as the Space Force continues to entrench itself as the newest service of the military.

Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, Air Force director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, said within a year the military will set up a National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC).

                     Gen. Jay Raymond

The center will develop from the two core space squadrons — space analysis and counter space analysis — that are now at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).

“Those squadrons will be the nucleus, they’d be the core of NSIC and then we will smatter a little bit of overhead on that to ensure that they’re getting what they need,” Lauderback said. “We absolutely want that to be co-located with NASIC. As a commander, there’s no way that we want to destroy the synergy that comes out of all of these squadrons being able to walk down the hallway and talk to each other.”

Lauderback said the Air Force and Space Force are looking into the engineering and modeling and other final assessments they need to station the two centers together.

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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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Top 10 Exopolitics Stories for 2020

2020 was big year for exopolitics and UFO disclosure with multiple mainstream news sites reporting major developments. Legacy media is now regularly discussing UFOs/UAPs and extraterrestrial life, along with the latest developments with the US Space Force. I discussed my list of the Top 10 Exopolitics news stories with Corey Goode on Zoom (see video below) to get his take on what they mean for “full disclosure”. I consider Corey, along with the late William Tompkins, to be one of the most informed, legitimate and accurate insiders about secret space programs, extraterrestrial life, etc., with significant evidence to back up his claims, as I have discussed previously.

I will go into detail about my  the Top 10 list with slides and news videos on January 3 in the upcoming Ascension, Exopolitics & Disclosure Conference with Laura Eisenhower, John DeSouza and Neil Gaur. This promises to be an exciting webinar discussing what happened in 2020 and what we can expect in 2021.

What follows is the zoom video with Corey and my list with links to relevant exopolitics.org articles published earlier in 2020.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Michael E. Salla, Ph.D.

 

Top Ten Exopolitics Stories for 2020

  1. Professor Haim Eshed revelations on US ET agreements and Galactic Federation https://exopolitics.org/controversy-over-israeli-scientist-claims-of-us-alien-agreements-galactic-federation/
  2. Signing of Artemis Accords – https://exopolitics.org/artemis-accords-are-a-first-step-to-a-space-nato-future-star-fleet/
  3. Eric Davis Briefings to Pentagon Congress on alien reverse engineering https://exopolitics.org/what-was-revealed-in-classified-ufo-briefings-to-congress-pentagon/
  4. Mike Turber revelations on Navy Tic Tac sightings being part of USAF SSP https://exopolitics.org/tic-tac-ufos-revealed-in-2005-briefing/
  5. Salvatore Pais Patent application on nuclear fusion gets published in prestigious journal https://exopolitics.org/paper-on-nuclear-fusion-reactor-for-hybrid-spacecraft-published-in-prestigious-journal/
  6. Space Center to be established at Ramstein Air Base, Germany https://exopolitics.org/nato-creates-space-center-in-germany-in-move-towards-future-star-fleet/
  7. Space Force completes first year with official logo, recruits, bases, doctrinal documents and Guardian name https://exopolitics.org/space-force-sets-priorities-to-prevent-future-space-war/
  8. Trump received secret briefing that Roswell UFO involved time traveling humans https://exopolitics.org/roswell-ufo-crash-to-be-officially-disclosed-as-time-traveling-future-humans/
  9. Congress asks Intel Community for comprehensive UFO report 180 days after passage of 2021 NDAA: https://exopolitics.org/us-congress-asks-for-ufo-report-from-intel-community-in-180-days/
  10. China sends up a Moon lander and retrieves lunar rocks to demonstrate its growing space power capabilities

 

Space Force is Now Part of the Joint Chiefs

Article by J. W. Sotak                                       December 18, 2020                                       (sofrep.com)

• On December 18th, the Pentagon announced General John Raymond, Chief of Space Operations, will join the Joint Chiefs of Staff bringing the total war cabinet members to eight. General Raymond took his seat at the table of America’s most senior uniformed leaders on December 20th. “You’ve treated me like a member ever since [the law was signed],” General Raymond said during a ceremony at the Pentagon. “I can’t thank you enough. I can’t thank my teammates enough. It’s a real privilege to sit at this table.”

• The Joint Chiefs are the primary advisory body on all military matters, reporting to the President, Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, and the National Security Council. The incorporation of the Space Force underscores the new focus on space and cybersecurity, and suggests that it will be responsible for more than just monitoring satellites and overseeing scientific space missions.

• “This is an incredibly important organization for the United States military and for the United States as a country,” said General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “We recognize [space] clearly as a warfighting domain. And we also know that we, the United States, we’ve got to maintain capabilities in that domain if we are going to continue to deter a great power war.”

• When the Joint Chiefs of Staff was created in 1942, it comprised the chairman and the chiefs of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. In 1978, the Commandant of the Marine Corps was added, followed by the chief of the National Guard Bureau in 2012.

• While the DoD reports that Space Force will to expand to roughly 20,000 servicemembers in the coming years, it would still be only half the size of the Coast Guard, with roughly 40,000 active-duty servicemembers. The Army, the largest branch, had over 450,000 active duty members and another 280,000 in the Reserves according to a 2019 report.

• Space Force is technically a Department of the Air Force. Space Force will rely on the Air Force for “more than 75 percent of its enabling functions” including “logistics, base operating support, civilian personnel management, business systems, IT support, and audit agencies,” allowing the military branch to remain agile, avoid duplicative staff roles, keep costs down, and concentrate on their missions.

• Skeptics and critics had relegated Space Force to President Trump’s pet project. But as the mission of the Space Force has begun to solidify, so has its credibility. As a Space Force video states: “When foreign powers can build bases on the dark side of the Moon, when private companies are inventing a new economy beyond our planet, we need to stay one step ahead of the future.”

• The addition of General Raymond to the Joint Chiefs, Space Force isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

 

        The Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Pentagon announced today that the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been expanded to include General John Raymond, Chief of Space Operations. This brings the war cabinet total to eight members. The decision to enlarge the group was signed into law earlier this year, and while General Raymond won’t be officially added to the roster of America’s most senior uniformed leaders until the one-year anniversary of the formation of Space Force on Sunday, December 20, he says he has already been received by his peers.

General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

“You’ve treated me like a member ever since [the law was signed],” General Raymond said during the ceremony at the Pentagon. “I can’t thank you enough. I can’t thank my teammates enough. It’s a real privilege to sit at this table.”

The Joint Chiefs occupy a critical role in national security. They are the primary advisory body on all military matters and report to the president, secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council, and the National Security Council. The incorporation of the Space Force underscores the new focus on space and cybersecurity. It suggests that the newest military branch will be responsible for more than just monitoring satellites and overseeing scientific space missions.

“We recognize it clearly as a warfighting domain. And we also know that we, the United States, we’ve got to maintain capabilities in that domain if we are going to continue to deter a great power war,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley said during the induction ceremony.

“This is an incredibly important organization for the United States military and for the United States as a country,” he added.

At present, the Space Force is still relatively small. While the DoD reports that it is slated to expand to roughly 20,000 servicemembers in the coming years, even at that number it would be half the size of the Coast Guard, the smallest of the military branches with roughly 40,000 active-duty servicemembers. The Army, the largest branch, had over 450,000 active duty members and another 280,000 in the Reserves at last count according to a 2019 report.

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What Happens to Space Force After Trump?

Article by Samantha Masunaga                                       December 15, 2020                                     (latimes.com)

• Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond says “proliferating technology” and “competitive interests” have changed space from a benign environment to “one in which we anticipate all aspects of human endeavor — including warfare.” The goals of Space Force include developing new capabilities, increasing cooperation and enabling a “lean and agile service.” Whether Space Force can achieve that mission is an open question. While Trump champions the initiative, he has done little to ensure it has the funding, staffing and authority to succeed. When he exits the White House next month, the Space Force’s trajectory remains unclear.

• Created last year as the first new armed service since 1947, Space Force has gained control of some space operations, but many others are still spread throughout the nation’s other military branches. Space Force is still technically part of the Air Force, just as the Marine Corps is part of the Navy. The Air Force’s Space Command is responsible for supporting and maintaining satellites for GPS, missile warning and nuclear command and control, as well as paying United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to launch national security satellites. “The whole point of this was to consolidate,” said Todd Harrison, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. The US Army, US Navy, and especially the US Air Force all conduct space operations.

• Consolidating these disparate programs into the Space Force has been slow. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida will change their names and become the first two Space Force installations. Eventually, all Air Force space missions are supposed to follow suit. But there has been no progress on integrating the Army‘s or Navy’s space missions.

• The Pentagon Space Force budget is lean. With about 2,100 personnel as of November 1st, Space Force commanded a budget of $40 million in 2020. Meanwhile, the Air Force has more than 325,000 active duty personnel and a budget of $168 billion for 2020. ($14B of that was designated to the Space Force.) The Space Force will probably always be the smallest military service, Harrison said. “Space is more dictated by capabilities than mass,” he said. Space Force “shouldn’t try to organize itself in the way of these much larger services because that’s not what it is. That’s not what it’s going to grow into.” For fiscal year 2021, the Space Force is requesting a budget transfer from the Air Force of $15.3 billion. Over time, as space programs from other services start consolidating into the Space Force, their budgets should follow.

• But David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies think tank, says that Space Force’s 2020 resources aren’t enough to carry out its mission of organizing, training and equipping forces to deter or defeat threats in space. US intelligence officials have warned that China and Russia have discussed developing new electronic warfare capabilities, which could have implications for U.S. military satellite communications or GPS satellite interference. “The nation is facing some very significant threats in the space realm,” says Deptula.

• “Space Force really needed to be stood up to remain competitive with the very real threats coming from our nearest adversaries,” said James Marceau, managing director of aerospace and defense at consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, who has also served as a senior advisor to the Pentagon on major strategies including the Space Force. “We can’t afford to neglect that domain.”

• As the strategic role of satellites came to the forefront in the early 1990s, congressional leaders and military officials, including former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, considered consolidating space operations. In 2016, Representatives Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) began advocating for a “space corps.” But there wasn’t enough support in the U.S. Senate for the proposal. Then, in March 2018, Trump seized upon the idea and suggested creating a ‘Space Force’ in a speech to Marines at Air Station Miramar in San Diego. (Cooper would later say Trump “tried to hijack” the idea of the space corps.) Five month later, Vice President Mike Pence announced the creation of Space Force. It was included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and signed into law in December 2019.

• At this point, it’s “highly unlikely” that the Biden administration would try to eliminate the Space Force, Harrison said. It would require a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the president’s signature, he said. “I have not heard anyone seriously contemplating the idea of disestablishing it,” Harrison said. “It hasn’t even gotten a chance to get started yet.”

• “You’ve already transferred thousands of individuals into the Space Force,” said Doug Loverro, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for space policy. “Can you imagine pulling the rug out from under them?” General Raymond says that he met with the Biden transition team in early December, and the conversation “was good”. So it appears that Space Force will be sticking around.

 

President Trump has a penchant for grandiose promises that go unfulfilled. So when he announced a

          Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond

plan to establish a Space Force, there was some skepticism.

Then-Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member on a Senate committee that deals with aviation and space, disliked the idea of consolidating space programs from the other military branches, saying at the time there were “too many important missions at stake” to “rip the Air Force apart.”

The idea of the new service became fodder for late-night comedians and a Netflix sitcom.
The Space Force, however, was not merely a presidential musing. Created last year as the first new armed service since 1947, it was established with the mission of protecting U.S. interests in space from potential adversaries, be they rival nations or gobs of space junk.

 Representative Jim Cooper

Whether it can achieve that mission is an open question. Though Trump champions the initiative, he has done little to ensure it has the funding, staffing and authority to succeed. When he exits the White House next month, the Space Force’s trajectory remains unclear.

            Todd Harrison

The Space Force has gained control of some space operations, but many others are still spread throughout the nation’s other military branches.

Within the Defense Department, the Air Force has the lion’s share of space programs and budget for space operations. It’s responsible for supporting and maintaining satellites for GPS, missile warning and nuclear command and control, as well as paying United Launch Alliance and SpaceX to launch national security satellites.

The Army and Navy also have their own space operations.

Consolidating these disparate programs into the Space Force has been slow. Some Air Force missions have transferred to Space Force control or are in the process of doing so — last week, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida would change their names and become the first two Space Force installations. Eventually, all Air Force space missions are supposed to follow suit. But there has been no progress on integrating the Army‘s or Navy’s space missions.

 Representative Mike Rogers

“The last thing you want … after all of this reorganization and creating a new military service is to continue to have the fragmentation of our space programs and space organizations across the military,” said Todd Harrison, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. “The whole point of this was to consolidate.”

           David Deptula

Compared with the budgets and personnel of the other branches of the U.S. military, the Space Force is lean. And technically it’s part of the Air Force, just as the Marine Corps is part of the Navy.

Consisting of about 2,100 people as of Nov. 1, the Space Force commanded a budget of $40 million for its operations and maintenance in fiscal year 2020.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has more than 325,000 active duty personnel and a budget of $168 billion for fiscal 2020. (The Air Force designated almost $14 billion of that for space capabilities. These projects have since become part of the Space Force.)

The Space Force will probably always be the smallest military service, Harrison said.

“Space is more dictated by capabilities than mass,” he said. The Space Force “shouldn’t try to organize itself in the way of these much larger services because that’s not what it is. That’s not what it’s going to grow into.”

          Doug Loverro

But the Space Force’s 2020 resources aren’t enough to carry out its mission of organizing, training and equipping forces to deter or defeat threats in space, said David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies think tank.

For fiscal year 2021, the Space Force is requesting a budget transfer from the Air Force of $15.3 billion. And over time, as space programs from other services start consolidating into the Space Force, their budgets should follow.

“The nation is facing some very significant threats in the space realm,” Deptula said. “Let’s make sure that service is set up for success.”

U.S. intelligence officials have warned that China and Russia have discussed developing new electronic warfare capabilities, which could have implications for U.S. military satellite communications or GPS satellite interference. In 2007, China tested an anti-satellite weapon and destroyed one of its own inactive weather satellites.

“Space Force really needed to be stood up to remain competitive with the very real threats coming from our nearest adversaries,” said James Marceau, managing director of aerospace and defense at consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, who has also served as a senior advisor to the Pentagon on major strategies including the Space Force. “We can’t afford to neglect that domain.”

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