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How not to build a space force
President Trump’s announcement that he wants to establish a “Space Force” similar to the U.S. Air Force has generated some excitement.
Among the skeptics, though, there is a joke circulating the the people most excited about the space force are those who don’t believe in science. I can’t claim credit for this joke, but it’s a good one. And in reality, it has something to say about this proposal.
The space force concept is actually something that has circulated for some time among policy-makers. The problem is that our space program is split into a number of entities. Of course there’s NASA, but even beyond that, the Army, Navy and Air Force all have military space programs. That’s not even counting the intelligence services such as CIA and NSA. The result is a lack of coordination and, at least in theory, duplicate efforts.
What’s more is that this idea is not unprecedented. Back in the 1970s, President Carter established the Department of Energy in the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo. Many of us have memories of Carter putting solar panels on the White House roof, urging people to lower their thermostats, and lowering the speed limit, all with the aim of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. As a result, there is this perception that the Department of Energy deals with oil exploration and production as well as efficiency efforts.
