U.S. Space Command: Why the Battlefield of Space is Crucial

On August 29th, 2019, President Trump established the U.S. military’s Space Command. It will be the 11th combat command, joining forces with the likes of CENTCOM (Middle East operations) and CYBERCOM (cyberspace defense). Space Command paves the way for an official “Space Force” to be launched – also mentioned by the President in his Rose Garden speech.

There are two main goals with space defense. First is to launch, manage and repair navigation satellites. When the U.S. goes into conflict in places like Afghanistan, our troops need accuracy for navigation, airstrikes and positioning. Right now, the Air Force is tasked with these responsibilities. If Space Command takes the reins, they will be much more innovative in addressing threats. The second is defending the United States from orbital environment attacks, monitoring threats and maintaining a dominant hold over space.

China and Russia are developing anti-satellite weapons that have the ability to interfere or destroy military satellites. Since the Obama administration ended NASA missions via shuttle, we have been contracting with the Russians to get humans to space (such as sending astronauts to the International Space Station). If we enter a global conflict with China or Russia, we cannot be dependent on either of these nations for access to space.

I believe the United States must remain the most dominant force on the globe. We are the greatest nation on earth – not just because of our economy and military strength, but because we are still a good and kind people. We are the only historical superpower that liberates nations rather than conquering nations. But there are rising powers who do not share our values – mainly communist China. We must take action to combat their aspiring dominance just as we combated communist Russia in the 1980s.

PC: Market Watch.