TO INFINITY AND BEYOND: President Trump used pretty unambiguous language when he announced yesterday he was ordering the Pentagon to move ahead with plans for what he called a “separate but equal” military service with the responsibility of defending America’s military interests in space.

“It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space. So important,” Trump said at a meeting of the National Space Council at the White House. “Very importantly, I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big statement.”