WASHINGTON |President Donald Trump has launched the Pentagon’s new Space Command. It’s an effort to better organize and advance the military’s vast operations in space that could cost as much as $800 million over the next five years.
Trump signed the one-page memorandum Tuesday authorizing the Department of Defense to create the new command.
Aurora Congressman Mike Coffman, the Republican veteran who represents Buckley Air Force Base, said he was surprised and disappointed by the president’s move to put the command center in Cape Canaveral.
“The fact is that Colorado is the epicenter of the national security space effort. Not only does Colorado have three major bases largely devoted to space warfighting, Buckley, Peterson and Schriever, our space industrial base ranks first in the nation with more than 26,000 aerospace employees,” he said in a statement to the Sentinel. “Coloradans also provide unmatched community support for those bases and our space related industries. As the administration moves forward with the reestablishment of U.S. Space Command and the location of its headquarters, I believe it must reconsider because locating it in Colorado is clearly in our nation’s best interest.”
The goal is to set up a command to oversee and organize space operations, accelerate technical advances and find more effective ways to defend U.S. assets in space, including the vast constellations of satellites that American forces rely on for navigation, communications and surveillance.
But Congressman-elect Jason Crow, who will represent Coffman’s district starting in 2019, isn’t sold on the command. He also questioned Trump’s space force idea throughout election season.
“While we have to be prepared to defend our military and civilian assets in space, I have yet to hear a compelling case for a new combatant command to accomplish that,” Crow said. “Our immediate focus must be on the war in Afghanistan. After 17 years, we need all hands on deck to bring our troops home, restore our credibility in the region, and save tens of billions of dollars. We can’t let this administration continue to distract from their failure to solve our most pressing issues at home and abroad.”
The move comes amid growing concerns that China and Russia are working on ways to disrupt, disable or even destroy U.S. satellites.
Trump’s order is separate from his oft-stated goal of creating a “Space Force” as an independent armed service branch, but it’s considered a step in that direction. The move will launch a long and complicated process, requiring the Defense Department to pull together various space units and agencies from across the military services into a more coordinated, independent organization.
The U.S. Air Force’s existing Space Command would be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as U.S. Cyber Command.
The move by Trump actually recreates a U.S. Space Command, which existed from 1985 to 2002. It was disbanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks so U.S. Northern Command could be established, focusing on defense of the homeland.
Although Space Command went away, its functions did not. They were absorbed by U.S. Strategic Command, and the Air Force retained its lead role in space through Air Force Space Command.
The military has been trying for decades to reorganize and accelerate technological advances in space. Some blame the Air Force for underinvesting in space because it prefers spending on warplanes.
The key goal is to find more effective ways to defend U.S. interests in space, especially the constellations of satellites that U.S. ground, sea and air forces rely on for navigation, communications and surveillance. These roles make them increasingly tempting military targets as China and Russia work on ways to disrupt, disable and even destroy American satellites.
The military’s role in space has been under scrutiny because the United States is increasingly reliant on orbiting satellites that are difficult to protect.
U.S. intelligence agencies reported earlier this year that Russia and China were pursuing “nondestructive and destructive” anti-satellite weapons for use during a future war. And there are growing worries about cyberattacks that could target satellite technology, potentially leaving troops in combat without electronic communications or navigation abilities.
— KARA MASON, Sentinel Staff Writer contributed to this report