Is an American Space Force Feasible?

A top Washington defence think-tank has calculated how much it should roughly cost for the cheapest way for U.S. President Donald Trump to boost American space combat options by 2020, as promised.

Trump would like the “Space Force” to become the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, committed to making sure Americans have military capabilities to fight wars in outer space.

However, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) projected this week that the five-year cost would come to an extra $1.5 billion to $2.7 billion in addition to the Department of Defense’s present spending.

The cost is based on whether the government chooses to incorporate a Space Corps division into the Air Force, creates a separate but lean Space Force “lite” or sets up a more expansive Space Force “heavy.”

In all three cases, the price seems feasible to Todd Harrison, director of defence budget analysis at CSIS.

The personnel size of any standalone Space Force would be comparable to the cost of running the Coast Guard, its budget would double the maritime service’s, as reported in the CSIS paper.

A Space Corps department, kept within the Air Force similar to how the Marine Corps presently exists within the Navy, would need around 1,700 new staff for a total workforce of 27,300. This additional department would come with an $11.3 billion a year price tag, in the fiscal year 2019.

During a phone briefing Harrison explained that if you’re comparing the different Space Corps or Space Force options, the closest military service they have concerning size budget is going to be the Coast Guard.

Nevertheless, a space combat unit within the Air Force probably won’t cut it for President Trump. He wants a completely new branch of the Armed Services that Harrison stated would have an annual budget of up to $21.5 billion. Of that amount, only an estimated $550 million a year would be new funding, all of which still sounds manageable to Harrison, who publicly supports the idea of a Space Force.

Harrison added that the additional funding would go towards a few new F-35 fighter jets (the unit price of an F-35 in fiscal 2020 is about $80 million.) Extra costs also involve things such as changing emblems, creating a new flag for the service, designing uniforms and administrative tasks like updating regulations.

Moreover, a dedicated Space Force building wouldn’t necessarily need to be built, as existing facilities could be used instead.

In August, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence said that Trump would call on Congress to allocate $8 billion over five years to create a Space Force.

Harrison also doesn’t think cost should be the deciding factor in creating a space force. He believes the most critical factor is whether or not people think it’s necessary.

National security consultant Dan Hill agrees that getting public buy-in is more important than arguing over budgets.

Hill, who leads the D.C. branding firm Hill Impact, added that when you start talking about a few billion versus $8 billion, the public doesn’t distinguish between those numbers that much. In Washington, a billion is a rounding error. But to the majority of people, a billion is a lot.

What’s more, Hill is doubtful that the Trump administration has effectively sold the idea.

Hill believes a significant hurdle will be convincing Americans a Space Force is a necessity right now while reassuring them the government hasn’t neglected to protect them thus far.

The Trump administration’s thinking is that a Space Force will defend the nation’s satellite systems from foreign enemies. But, those who are skeptical highlight how the U.S already has an Air Force Space Command, based in Colorado.

Moreover, Senior Pentagon officials have not warmed to the Space Force idea. Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James told CNBC in July that while talking with Pentagon brass, none of them were in favour of a Space Force.

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson both endorsed the concept. But how much a Space Force might cost to launch, what its full scope might be and who might staff its headquarters has not yet been decided. The Trump administration is expected to release a budget request in February.

Harrison’s number crunching shows that an expansive “heavy” option for an independent Space Force would cost taxpayers approximately $21.5 billion a year, and include the transfer of around 18,300 active duty, 2,800 guards and reserve and 24,300 civilian personnel from other military services like the Air Force, Army and Navy.

Over 96 percent of that funding would come from existing Department of Defense budgets, Harrison noted.

However, apart from convincing Americans of the necessity of a Space Force, a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives could pose a problem for Trump.

As Hill explained, there will be a natural tendency to push back” on the administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle may resist adding to military spending if it negatively impacts jobs in their home district.

Harrison also admitted that the new Congress could trash the Space Force idea altogether.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/space-force-trump-budget-estimate-csis-analysis-1.4913483

The post Is an American Space Force Feasible? appeared first on Asgardia.

Learn more: Asgardia Space News