Ever since we got to the moon, and saw a new dimension, we believed we ruled the skies. We knew that we had beat the Russians. Television brought a new meaning to a wooden box.  But with that, we needed satellites, space was more than Americanism, we all needed it. Fast forward 40 yrs. and we were no longer the king of the skies. Then ISS came about and China launched its first man to space. In 2009 when 2 satellites collided we realized that our space around the earth is limited. Today, space is always in the news, Mars had water, space debris, and today weapons in space. Threats from this world come in all directions. Land, sea, sky, and now space.

In August of 2018 Trump announced that we needed another branch of the military. It came with mixed reactions. When the Washington Post interviewed Terry Vitts (a former commander of the ISS) he believed we needed one due to his memory of his crew having to dodge Chinese anti-satellite missile debris.  However many questions remain, such as the cost, and the necessity of one. According to National Intrest congress will decide if a space force is formed.  It would be the 6th military branch and receive 717 billion dollars in funding. The biggest obstacle in the bill is the Senate where the Republican majority is not large enough to pass a bill. To pass one you need 60 votes, currently, we have 51 Republican senators. Assuming all the Republican senators vote along party lines (very probable ever since John McCain’s death) the bill will need 9 democrat senators for it to pass.

So what do current laws say? The constitution states that military branches must be on land or sea. Considering the Constitution was written in 1787 and we have an air force, we can most likely ignore it. However, if we go into deep deep space, say a light year away (still a long distance) and be potentially fighting deep space battles against aliens or Russians, we might need an amendment. People ask is a space force necessary?  Trump believes so and though opinions are mixed many people believe that in order to protect American satellites we need one. So why would we need to protect satellites, and why would other nations do so.

The short answer is technology, the long answer is that without satellites we would be back to the Medieval Era. Without satellites, cable TV, Wi-Fi, and the world wide web will cease to exist as well as the entire modern U.S. military equipment. As a result, many people and astronauts like Buzz Aldrin want one. So when did Trump want to pass it? The answer is Russian and Chinese aggression towards American satellites starting way back in 2014 when Putin came to power.  According to CNN, people speculate that Russian and Chinese “satellites” actually are prototypes to anti-satellite satellites. In conclusion, the bill is an idea with many upsides but not without its downsides. But the chance of it passing is not the best.