The Trump administration is set to release its final plan for a new Space Force military service branch within days, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday.
Pence made the announcement during a speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Pentagon indicated last week it was finishing up a planning effort that started last summer.
The Pentagon has so far not released any details such as the size, scope, or cost of the Space Force. But Pence said details of the Space Force, which will be the first new service branch since the Air Force was created in 1947, would be coming shortly.
“In the days ahead, President Trump will also sign a new space policy directive that will lay out our plans and our timeline to create the new sixth branch of the armed forces, the U.S. Space Force,” Pence said.
As Pence was speaking, the president took a step toward the Space Force by signing a memorandum that directs Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to establish a new combatant command solely focused on space. The U.S. Space Command joins ten other combatant commands with responsibilities for geographic regions and areas such as cyberwarfare.
But the Space Force, which became a signature campaign issue at Trump’s rallies earlier this year, will require legislation and funding to be passed on Capitol Hill.
“We’re working as we speak with leaders in both parties in Congress to stand up the United States Space Force before the end of 2020,” Pence said.
A new space service faced opposition from lawmakers in the past and could be a divisive issue again next year.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., who is set to be the next House Armed Services chairman, is opposed to a sixth military branch and has questioned whether segregating all space operations into a new service is a wise use of funding.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have also been skeptical of the plan. But Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the chairman, has said he is warming up to the president’s plans.
