President Trump Orders Creation of ‘Space Force’

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is directing the Pentagon to create “space force” as an independent branch of the military, the Associated Press reports.

“I’m directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big statement,” Trump said in an announcement from Cape Canaveral, Florida. “We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal.”

“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,” he said, according to CNBC.

U.S. Space Command, under the U.S. Air Force branch, has been in control of military space operations.

A space force is designed to ensure friendly use of space and conduct of outer space operations, care after military training missions and space warfare or any combat that may occur in space.

Trump said the United States will “be the leader by far” in space and looks to revive the nation’s flagging space program. He framed the undertaking as a national security issue, saying he does not want “China and Russia and other countries leading us.”

He also vowed to return the United States to the moon and to reach Mars.

Joining Trump were Vice President Mike Pence (who heads up the recently revived space council), NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and members of his space council.

Earlier Monday, the White House announced it is establishing a new policy for reducing satellite clutter in space. Trump is expected to sign the new space policy into effect Monday, as the National Space Council convenes.

The policy calls for providing a safe and secure environment up in orbit, and also sets new guidelines for satellite design and operation as satellite traffic increases. It is designed to avoid collisions and spacecraft breakups.

Trump first floated the idea of a space force as a part of his national security strategy during a March 13 speech, saying “space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea.” He then described how he’d initially coined the term as a joke while discussing government spending and private investment in space.

“We have the Air Force, we’ll have the space force,” Trump said in March.