# Trump wants a US space force **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 18, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341 "2018-06-18T21:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/101 "2018-06-21T17:18:56Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Humor aside, there is a need for this. > > Suppose an asteroid or comet is headed our way, can we stop it? > > Suppose the Russians or Chinese come up with a weaponized mobile satellitesystem to take our own, or mount a laser-like weapon? Do not laugh, lasers are weapons these days. The navy has some that can set fire to a small ship in seconds with the cost per shot being under a dollar. With some development, you don’t need to spend whatever a cruise missile cost to take out a terrorist stronghold. There is no defense, the weapon moves at the speed of light. Whichever nation gets the edge in space, militarily and political speaking will have a big advantage. Ronald’s Reagan’s stars wars defense isn’t so far off these days. > > Suppose in the not too distant future, there is money to be made mining minerals, from Asteroids or moons, who protects the transport ships from piracy? > > And those are just some ideas off the top of my head. > > So you see there is a need for a militarized space unit. Why do you say humor aside, and then post those humorous suppositions? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/102 "2018-06-21T17:41:40Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Humor aside, there is a need for this. > > Suppose an asteroid or comet is headed our way, can we stop it? [NASA is already](https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-studies-for-the-asteroid-redirect-mission) on it. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/103 "2018-06-21T21:01:39Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Suppose in the not too distant future, there is money to be made mining minerals, from Asteroids or moons, who protects the transport ships from piracy? > > And those are just some ideas off the top of my head. > > So you see there is a need for a militarized space unit. Clearly in the threat category of space pirates, the critical question is not one of orbital physics, economics, or sociology, but whether the person fighting the space pirate wears a uniform of Air Force blue or Space Force midnight. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/104 "2018-06-21T21:15:43Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Clearly in the threat category of space pirates, the critical question is not one of orbital physics, economics, or sociology, but whether the person fighting the space pirate wears a uniform of Air Force blue or Space Force midnight. Ar! There be women aboard! Th’ LASERs is ready for firin’ Cap’n. _Ar_ ready for firin’, you Dutch built bugger, _ar_ ready for firin’. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/105 "2018-06-21T21:47:48Z")
Up jumps a Grey with his hairless head Saying “you play the cribbage and I’ll space Zed” Singing blow the sun westerly, let the mass driver fly By a gentle nor’wester how the lasers do fry… ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/106 "2018-06-22T00:52:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > [NASA is already](https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-selects-studies-for-the-asteroid-redirect-mission) on it. NASA was gutted by Obama, and they are not a military branch. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/107 "2018-06-22T00:55:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Ar! There be women aboard! > > Th’ LASERs is ready for firin’ Cap’n. > > _Ar_ ready for firin’, you Dutch built bugger, _ar_ ready for firin’. Educate yourself on the below link. Laser weapons are real, and they will only get better. Putting them in space is logical for defense. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tyUh_xSjvXQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Watch the US Navy's laser weapon in action") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyUh_xSjvXQ) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/108 "2018-06-22T01:21:33Z")
[quote=“Silver\_lining, post:107, topic:816341”] Educate yourself on the below link. Laser weapons are real, and they will only get better. Putting them in space is logical for defense. [/QUOTE] Humor; it is a difficult concept. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/109 "2018-06-22T01:30:03Z")
Laser weapons are real. Orbital laser weapons are fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/110 "2018-06-22T05:11:40Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The non-sequitur use of the phrase “separate but equal” shows how little thought or context has gone into this idea or the public presentation of it. For those not aware, “seperate but equal” is strongly identified with the summation of the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case … which is why it always sounded odd to me when Law & Order used very similar words in their introduction. _In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories._ NASA is a non-military organization, yes, but they have always done jobs for the military. Roughly half of all the satellite launches by NASA were for military satellites. And a great number of astronauts are military officers. Even if these goals being talked about were important and real, I don’t see why NASA cann’t be adapted to handle it, with just minor changes. But I’m more worried about what such a Space Force would be capable of doing. If you have a laser that can shoot down spacecraft, it’s a walk in the park to shoot down other satellites, or take out a Humvee in Afghanistan. If you thought drones put too much power into the hands of the executive branch, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/111 "2018-06-22T09:57:14Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Humor aside, there is a need for this. > > Suppose an asteroid or comet is headed our way, can we stop it? > > Suppose the Russians or Chinese come up with a weaponized mobile satellitesystem to take our own, or mount a laser-like weapon? Do not laugh, lasers are weapons these days. The navy has some that can set fire to a small ship in seconds with the cost per shot being under a dollar. With some development, you don’t need to spend whatever a cruise missile cost to take out a terrorist stronghold. There is no defense, the weapon moves at the speed of light. Whichever nation gets the edge in space, militarily and political speaking will have a big advantage. Ronald’s Reagan’s stars wars defense isn’t so far off these days. A few things to unpack here. Firstly, yes I consider mocking trump here, and the actual proposal, to be two separate things. I was mocking trump because he sounded like a fucking five year-old and it still amazes me that there is no adult in the room to convert his random thoughts into something presidential. But secondly, on the proposal, yes we should be investing money in things like asteroid defence. The question is whether a “space force” is the right approach. For example, if a Chicxulub-sized asteroid were headed for earth (again), the best approach might be painting one side of it white; not a manned mission and not blowing any shit up. So what use is a military force? For the other concerns, they won’t happen overnight. If some country is dumb enough to try to build military infrastructure in space, we’ll have many years to counter that threat, indeed be ahead of it, before there are star destroyers parked over, I dunno, Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/112 "2018-06-22T11:31:00Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Of course there’s a pesky [Outer Space Treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty), which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space. No weapons of mass destruction in outer space? So I’m not allowed to use my pressure cooker up there? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/114 "2018-06-22T13:33:23Z")
I think we’re all aware of that. That said, it’s just rearranging the org chart :shrug: . What would interest me is adding new capabilities or new missions to the military, and this doesn’t affect that even if it eventually happens. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/115 "2018-06-22T14:41:52Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Although I must say that “U.S. Space Force Academy” is a mighty good-sounding school name - if such a branch ever gets its own military academy in the future. Uh, will they accept space cadets? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/116 "2018-06-22T16:04:42Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Additionally, the military has tried to discourage him from doing this. I’d be interested to know who put this bug up his butt. Maybe he just think it sounds cool. Possibly [this](http://www.newsweek.com/ufo-toy-discontinued-teaching-kids-nazis-could-travel-space-983745) [story](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5860439/Nazi-flying-saucer-toy-taken-shelves-Germany.html)? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/117 "2018-06-22T18:13:13Z")
But the Nazi’s _did_ build a space ship – it just wasn’t saucer-shaped. They called the V-2. VonBraun commented after their first successful launch, “The test was a complete success, but we hit the wrong planet.” ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/118 "2018-06-22T18:35:13Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > NASA was gutted by Obama, and they are not a military branch. [How were they gutted?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA) Spending for NASA has been in a very slow decline since 1991, but as a percentage of the budget it remained [slightly more stable under Obama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA#/media/File:NASA-Budget-Federal.svg) than it did during the GWB and Clinton administrations. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/119 "2018-06-24T02:14:39Z")
Boy, that second chart really shows that Robert Heinlein knew what he was talking about when he said the planets are ours, COD. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/120 "2018-06-24T04:29:16Z")
This administration is deeply anti-science. They only want to hear what they want to hear, which is not what the scientific community will tell them. Scientists are going away from government because they are troublemakers, so they are left with patsies, yes-men and liars. Ignorant people do not fare well in space, but that is how the Space Force is being set up at this point. It is a sure path to failure – or perhaps it will be like it was with Werner Heisenberg, whose careful work on an atomic bomb was calculated to go nowhere because he did not want the program to succeed and put such a weapon in those hands. Or researchers will just collect grant money and “make progress” on otherwise fruitless endeavors (which could yield actual side-benefits but never achieve the stated goals). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341/121 "2018-06-24T19:41:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Laser weapons are real. Orbital laser weapons are fantasy. What about space pirates? Are they real? 'Cause I have a, uh, friend who might be interested in joining such an organization. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wants-a-us-space-force/816341.md?page=7)