To the last moments of his presidency, Donald Trump trumpeted Space Force as a creation for the ages.
And while President Joe Biden has quickly undone other Trump initiatives, the space-faring service seems likely to survive, even if the new administration pushes it lower on the list of defense priorities.
The reason Space Force is unlikely to go away is largely this: Elimination would require an act of Congress, where a bipartisan consensus holds that America’s increasing reliance on space is a worrying vulnerability that is best addressed by a branch of the military focused exclusively on this problem.
The new service also is linked to an increasing U.S. Wariness of China, which is developing capabilities to threaten U.S. Satellites in space and which has become, in the minds of some, the singular national security challenge. Russia, too, stands accused by Washington of seeking to challenge American dominance in space.
“They’re building capabilities to use space against us. We have to be able to respond to that,” Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Security Space Association, an advocacy group, last week, referring to Russia and China.
As a career space officer, Hyten says he often gets asked what will become of Space Force under Biden. And while he offered no prediction, he clearly believes Space Force should remain. Biden has not publicly commented on his intentions with Space Force. His defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has been noncommittal while stressing the strategic importance of space.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Biden’s view.
Although some see it as a Trump vanity project, Space Force is not the farcical force of the public imagination.
In the military, it’s seen soberly as an affirmation of the need to more effectively organise for the defense of U.S. Interests in space — especially satellites used for civilian and military navigation, intelligence and communication.
While far smaller than any other branch of the military, Space Force is acquiring the standard trappings of a service, including an official flag, logo, seal and doctrine. It has launched commercials to attract recruits.