US Space Force: Five things you need to know

Various countries have various degrees of benefits and contribution in militarization of Space. Presently, seven out of the 11 countries that have the capacity to launch a satellite have Space warfare in one form or the other.

Six decades after the launch of the first satellite into Space on 31 January, 1958, the US on Friday approved budget for creation of a full-fledged 'Space Force' to protect its satellites and ensure a lead in the Space over adversaries such as Russia and China.

"We are leading but we are not leading by enough. But, very shortly we will be leading by a lot," said POTUS, Donald Trump speaking at an army base near Washington on Friday. He also justified the need of 'American superiority' in the Space due to the 'grave threats to national security. "The Space Force will help us deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground. Going to be a lot of things happening in Space, because Space is the world's newest warfighting domain," added Trump.

Though a Space command already existed in the US Air Force, the creation of a full-fledged 'Space Force' is another shock for those who were expecting peaceful utilization of outer Space. At a time, the UN agencies are warning about 'existential crisis' due to global warming and climate change, the possibility of 'Space War' has added another dimension in the list of existential crisis for human beings. The crisis in the Space could be well assessed with the fact that in the past six decades, since the Soviet Union (Russia) launched the first ever satellite – Sputnik 1, about 8,900 satellites have been launched by more than 40 countries out of which about 5,000 remain in the orbit. Out of those 3,100 are just satellite waste.

What is Space Force?

Formally, a Space force or Space warfare has a mandate to protect the country's interests in the Space, its satellites from adversaries and the country. The Space warfare is generally created as part or wing of the air force of the country. It may have capabilities of targeting satellites from ground and also using the satellites to destroy targets on the earth.

The newly created United States Space Force (SSSF) is successor of United States Space Command created in 1985 but merged with US Strategic Command in 2002. As per the Presidential approval on 20 December, 2019 the USSF will have an annual budget of USD 40 million out of the USD 738 million approved by Donald Trump for annual defense expenditure. Initially, the USSF will have a cadre strength of 16,000 personnel.

The USSF will be the 6th force of the US after the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. General Jay Raymond, who currently runs SpaceCom has been appointed as the first Chief of USSF. "With the establishment of the United States Space Force, we are elevating Space commensurate with its importance to our national security and the security of our allies and our partners," said Raymond.

What the USSF will do?

The USSF has been formed on inputs of the US intelligence agencies that China and Russia have developed capabilities of airborne lasers and anti-satellite missiles. Vice-President Mike Pence explained that the two nations (China and Russia) had airborne lasers and anti-satellite missiles that the US needed to counter.

In fact, the main motive behind the creation of the force is to ensure the supremacy of the US in the Space. Besides these two countries, adversaries such as North Korea and Iran have also emerged as challengers to the US's supremacy in the Space and also on the ground. Now, the US is finding the Space 'crowded and adversarial'.

Therefore, besides developing capability and utilizing the US Space research in protecting its, the USSF will also be equipped with sophisticated weapons to counter its adversaries in Space to Space, ground to Space and Space to ground war.

How many countries have Space forces?

Presently, seven counties in the world have Space warfare in one form or the other. They are Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Russia, UK, and USA.

There are various degrees of advantages of one country over the other in reference to militarization of Space. Presently, there are 92 countries which have their own satellites while only 11 have the capability of launching satellites. They are - US, Franc, Japan, China, UK, India, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, South Korea and New Zealand. Those having their own satellite can avail better information about their adversaries who don't have satellites while they are dependent on the 11 countries.

How many countries can shoot down a satellite?

Initially an exclusive domain of the US and Russia, China also demonstrated its capability to shoot down a satellite in 2007. India is the latest entry into this elite club that demonstrated her capability in Space by shooting down its own satellite on May 27, 2019.

What are the UN Laws?

The UN has a treaty to ensure utilization of Space for peaceful purposes known as 'The Outer Space Treaty 1966. Though it has several provisions to prevent Space war and prohibits deployment of weapons of mass destruction in Space, it hardly has any dedicated mechanism to ensure compliance. There is another agreement known as 'Moon Treaty 1984 which envisions stricture norms to protect the celestial bodies. As of now 18 countries are parties to this treaty but only Australia has the Space force.

As the cold war in Space has already started, the possibility of a full-fledged Space war is as alarming and dangerous as nuclear war on the earth. Experts believe that both the US and China are developing jamming and cyber Space capabilities, directed energy weapons, on-orbit capabilities, and ground-based anti-satellite missiles that can achieve a range of reversible to irreversible effects.

Therefore, the responsibility to ensure peaceful utilization of Space depends on the countries that are engaged in a cold war into the Space.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are the personal views of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)