President Trump’s plan to establish a Space Force is garnering support on Capitol Hill, but at least one expert believes there are significant hurdles to overcome before it would become a reality. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told Air Force Magazine that Congress very likely will address the idea.
“There is an absolute need for a Space Force as a separate organization in the Department of Defense,” said Rogers, who chairs the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, in a statement on his web site.
Additionally, Loren Thompson – who heads the Virginia-based Lexington Institute think tank – wrote in Forbes Magazine that a Space Force could be necessary to protect the constellation of orbiting satellites that are crucial to military, civil and commercial operations. Noting that the Air Force already embraces the aerospace mission, Thompson believes that the service would offer some resistance – while embracing the idea that space assets must be given greater protection from impending anti-satellite threats posed by China and Russia.
Several questions need to be answered before all of this is sorted out, Thompson wrote.
“Is greater resilience in space really synonymous with orbiting a larger number of less complicated satellites? Can current military satellites be evolved to provide greater functionality faster than if they are replaced? And how much money is the administration prepared to spend on all this?” Thompson wrote.