Trump Plans to Bring Back Space Command

US President Donald Trump ordered the country’s military to create Space Command, a new structure within the US Department of Defence. It will be responsible for managing all of the space assets of the US military, as well as conduct the military operations in space, reports The Straits Times.

“I direct the establishment, consistent with United States law, of United States Space Command as a functional Unified Combatant Command, Trump said in a memo to Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

According to US Vice President Mike Pence, the Space Command will have to develop a doctrine, tactics and procedures for the nation’s defence in space. Space Command — or SpaceCom — is separate from Trump’s Space Force, a new branch of the military that will focus on space defence and warfare. Space Force has still not received approval from Congress. If approved, Space Force would become a sixth, new branch of the military, alongside the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Notably, this is not the first time the US established a Space Command. The US military has historically relied on tactical information provided by satellite communications, including intelligence, navigation, missile-warning and weather reports in areas of conflict. In 1985, the US Space Command was established, coordinated jointly by the Army, Navy and Air Force. However, in 2002, the Space Command was merged with the US Strategic Command, another of the ten unified commands in the US Department of Defence.

That is because in 2002, the US Department of Defense instituted the Unified Command Plan that directed the Unified Combatant Commands to be capped at 10: Africa, Central, Cyber, European, Indo-Pacific, Northern, Southern, Special Operations, Strategic, and Transportation. Combatant commands are comprised of at least two military departments and provide command and control of military forces on the basis of geography or functionality. However, if Trump’s new plan succeeds, Space Command will become Pentagon’s 11th combatant command, requiring new headquarters, as well as Senate approval for its commander and deputy commander.

Follow the most recent Space&Science news on Asgardia.Space