Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump ordered the creation of "Space Command" on Tuesday, a move the administration is labeling a precursor to creating a US Space Force.

"I direct the establishment, consistent with United States law, of United States Space Command as a functional Unified Combatant Command," Trump said in an executive memorandum to Secretary of Defense James Mattis. "I also direct the Secretary of Defense to recommend officers for my nomination and Senate confirmation as Commander and Deputy Commander of the new United States Space Command."

Two defense officials told CNN that the Pentagon is nearing completion of a draft proposal for a Space Force that would sit under the Air Force, but have many of the trappings of a separate service, resembling the Marine Corps' relationship to the Department of the Navy.

The new command is the 11th combatant command and will have control of military space operations.

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at Cape Canaveral Tuesday, said the new space command "won't end there."

Read More </s> President Donald Trump launched the Pentagon's new Space Command Tuesday, an effort to better organize and advance the military's vast operations in space that could cost as much as $800 million over the next five years.

Trump signed a one-page memorandum Tuesday authorizing the Department of Defense to create the new command.

The goal is to set up a command to oversee and organize space operations, accelerate technical advances and find more effective ways to defend U.S. assets in space, including the vast constellations of satellites that American forces rely on for navigation, communications and surveillance. The move comes amid growing concerns that China and Russia are working on ways to disrupt, disable or even destroy U.S. satellites.

The new order is separate from the president's much touted goal of creating a "Space Force" as an independent armed service branch, but is considered a first step in that direction. The memo provides little detail on what will be a long and complicated process as the Defense Department begins to pull together various space units from across the military services into a more coordinated, independent organization.

According to one U.S. official, the command would pull about 600 staff from existing military space offices, and then add at least another 1,000 over the coming years. The roughly $800 million would mainly cover the additional staff. The costs for the existing staff would just transfer to the new command, but that total was not immediately available.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations not yet announced.

Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, spokesman for Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, said that establishing Space Command is "a critical step in accelerating our space capabilities and posture to defend our vital national interests and deter our adversaries. This combatant command will lead space operations and develop space warfighting doctrine, tactics, and techniques."

He added that the Pentagon will continue to develop a legislative proposal to meet the president's vision for a space force.

The first steps next year will be to nominate top leaders for Space Command, including a four-star general and a deputy. The command would likely at least begin to take form in Colorado, where the current Joint Functional Component Command for Space is already located. But there has been no final decision on a location for the new command.

Funding for the command will be included in the budget for fiscal year 2020, which will be unveiled in February.

Trump's order accelerates what has been a decades-long effort to reorganize and improve the military's technological advances in space, which at times has gotten less attention as the Air Force has focused on warplanes and other combat priorities.

The military's role in space has been under scrutiny because the United States is increasingly reliant on orbiting satellites that are difficult to protect. Satellites provide communications, navigation, intelligence and other services vital to the military and the national economy.

Over the past year, the issue gained urgency amid growing competition and threats from adversary nations.

U.S. intelligence agencies reported earlier this year that Russia and China were pursuing "nondestructive and destructive" anti-satellite weapons for use during a future war. And there are growing worries about cyberattacks that could target satellite technology, potentially leaving troops in combat without electronic communications or navigation abilities.

A U.S. Space Command existed from 1985 to 2002, but was disbanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks so that U.S. Northern Command could be established, focusing on defense of the homeland.

Although Space Command went away, its functions remained and were absorbed by U.S. Strategic Command. The Air Force retained its lead role in space through Air Force Space Command. That existing space command will be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as other headquarters such as U.S. Cyber Command, Special Operations Command or Strategic Command.

The new Space Command will also pull from existing units in the other services, such as the Army Space and Missile Command and the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

Officials said the process of breaking away parts of other organizations and molding them all into a new command will be done carefully, to ensure it's done correctly without jeopardizing any ongoing operations or activities. </s> President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued an executive order re-creating a U.S. Space Command, which previously existed prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. All the previous space-related responsibilities assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command will be assigned to the Space Command. Vice President Mike Pence is due to make the announcement at Kennedy Space Center. The Trump order is separate from his goal of creating an independent armed service branch called the Space Force.

Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here. </s> President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order before the end of the year creating a US Space Command as a major military command.

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order before the end of the year creating a US Space Command as a major military command.

Vice President Mike Pence will make the announcement on Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Centre, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, officials said, and President Trump could sign the order as soon as Tuesday.

The move is separate from President Trump’s goal of creating a “Space Force” as an independent armed service branch, but could be a step in that direction.

The US Air Force’s existing Space Command would be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as US Cyber Command.

According to US officials, Vice President Pence will be at the Pentagon on Tuesday and will meet with the Joint Chiefs.

Space Command is expected to be among the issues discussed.

The move would actually recreate a US Space Command, which existed from 1985 to 2002.

It was disbanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks so that US Northern Command could be established, focusing on defence of the homeland.

Although Space Command went away, its functions did not. They were absorbed by US Strategic Command, and the Air Force retained its lead role in space through Air Force Space Command. </s> WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the creation of “Space Command,” a new organizational structure within the Pentagon that will have overall control of military space operations.

The command will be separate from Trump’s goal to build an entirely new branch of the military called “Space Force” — but could be a step in that direction.

“I direct the establishment, consistent with United States law, of United States Space Command as a functional Unified Combatant Command,” Trump said in a memo to Defense Secretary Defense Jim Mattis.

Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Cape Canaveral, Vice President Mike Pence said the new US Space Command will integrate space capabilities across all branches of the military.

“It will develop the space doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures that will enable our war fighters to defend our nation in this new era,” Pence said.

SpaceCom, as it will inevitably come to be known, will be the Pentagon’s 11th combatant command, along with other well-known commands including Central Command and Europe Command.

Trump in June said he wanted to create a “Space Force,” which would be an entirely new branch of the military alongside the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force.

He insists such a move is necessary to tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit.

But its creation is not a done deal, as it needs to be approved by Congress, and the concept has met with some skepticism from lawmakers and defense officials wary of the cost and added bureaucracy.

The creation of a new Space Force would also set off a turf war within the Pentagon, particularly with the Air Force, which currently is responsible for most space operations. </s> (CNN) — President Donald Trump ordered the creation of “Space Command” on Tuesday, a move the administration is labeling a precursor to creating a US Space Force.

“I direct the establishment, consistent with United States law, of United States Space Command as a functional Unified Combatant Command,” Trump said in an executive memorandum to Secretary of Defense James Mattis. “I also direct the Secretary of Defense to recommend officers for my nomination and Senate confirmation as Commander and Deputy Commander of the new United States Space Command.”

Two defense officials told CNN that the Pentagon is nearing completion of a draft proposal for a Space Force that would sit under the Air Force, but have many of the trappings of a separate service, resembling the Marine Corps’ relationship to the Department of the Navy.

The new command is the 11th combatant command and will have control of military space operations.

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at Cape Canaveral Tuesday, said the new space command “won’t end there.”

Pence said “in the days ahead, President Trump will also sign a new space policy directive that will lay out our plans and our timeline to create the new sixth branch of the armed forces, the US Space Force.”

“We’re working as we speak with leaders in both parties in Congress to stand up the United States Space Force before the end of 2020,” Pence said. The vice president said the military will use the foundation provided by the Air Force, which has been “a magnificent steward of our military space capabilities” and build on that with “space professionals from every branch.”

“While we’re taking these actions to ensure our nation’s security, and our future, we’ll be following the very best traditions of the past,” Pence said.

The new Space Command will be only the 11th combined combatant command, joining the ranks of Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, and Special Operations Command, which oversees elite troops known as Special Operations Forces.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva are expected to brief key members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees and Defense appropriations subcommittees, according to a defense official familiar with the announcement.

The White House announcement said Mattis will provide Trump with nominations for the commander and deputy commander of Space Command and that the new command “will strengthen” space operations while also helping to “streamline command and control of time-sensitive operations” and “consolidate space operations under a single authority.”

A Pentagon report released in August said the new command will “improve and evolve space warfighting,” focusing on doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures, making it akin to Special Operations Command, which provides a similar function for US Special Operations Forces, such as US Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces.

“This new command structure for the physical domain of space, led by a four-star flag officer, will establish unified command and control for our Space Force operations, ensure integration across the military, and develop the space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures of the future,” Pence said during a visit to the Pentagon in August.

Officials told CNN that Mattis will send a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee asking them to repeal a provision in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act which establishes Space Command as a sub-unified command underneath Strategic Command. Trump’s direction will skip this step, elevating it to the same level as Strategic Command. </s> President Donald Trump announced Monday that he has ordered the creation of a new military branch, adding the "Space Force" to the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

"It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space. 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 is a big statement," Trump said at a meeting of the National Space Council on Monday. "We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal, it is going to be something."

NEW: Pres. Trump says he is directing the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to "establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces." "We must have an American dominance in space." https://t.co/dMeVjlPoyT pic.twitter.com/a59t6cFHWv — Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) June 18, 2018

This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates. </s> US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US " space force ," which he said would become the sixth branch of the American military."I'm hereby directing the DOD (Department of Defense) and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces," Trump said at the start of a meeting of the National Space Council "That's a big statement. We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the space force, separate but equal." </s> WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump boasted Monday of the US commercial space industry´s deep wallet and enterprising spirit, and vowed US dominance in exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as any future space race.



"America will always be the first in space," Trump said during a speech at the White House.

"We don´t want China and Russia and other countries leading us. We´ve always led," he added.

"My administration is reclaiming America´s heritage as the world´s greatest space-faring nation."

The US president called for the Pentagon to create a new America "Space Force" that would become the sixth branch of the American military but requires Congressional approval to take effect.

The idea, which Trump has floated before, has stoked controversy at the Pentagon and among lawmakers.

"We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the Space Force, separate but equal," Trump said.

Details about the role and timing of any new space force were not immediately clear. However, the creation of a new branch of the military cannot happen from one day to the next, as Congress would have to pass a law authorizing it first.

The US armed forces currently consist of the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard.

"When it comes to defending America it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space," Trump said at the start of the third meeting of the National Space Council, an advisory body led by Vice President Mike Pence.

Since his election, Trump has repeatedly vowed to send people back to the Moon for the first time since 1972, in preparation for the first human missions to Mars in the coming decades.

He has also promised fewer regulations, so as to speed up the process private industries must go through before launching a rocket or satellite.

The US commercial space sector is booming, while NASA has shifted from its role as a launcher of rockets during the Apollo era (1961-1972) and the space shuttle era (1981-2011) to mainly a client.

The US space agency has contracted SpaceX and Orbital ATK to ferry supplies to the International Space Station since 2012.

NASA has been unable to send astronauts to space since the shuttle program ended in 2011, and relies on Russian Soyuz spaceships in the meantime.

SpaceX and Boeing are expected to start regular astronaut missions to low-Earth orbit next year.

Trump wants to privatize the ISS after 2025, another controversial notion in Congress, in order to spend more money on NASA and returning astronauts to the Moon.

"This time we will establish a long-term presence," Trump said.

NASA is working on its most powerful rocket ever, called the Space Launch System, or SLS, to launch astronauts and their equipment to the Moon and one day, Mars.

The US space agency also wants to build a lunar outpost.

But private industry will have a role in that, too. NASA has already sought out mission concepts for delivering materials to the surface of the Moon.

"Rich guys seem to like rockets," Trump said. "As long as it´s an American rich person, that´s good, they can beat us."

Meanwhile, Trump has signed two directives -- one that transfers certain powers from the Pentagon to the Commerce Department, including the regulation of private satellites.

Another directive on space traffic management is aimed at boosting public-private monitoring of objects in orbit so as to avoid collisions and debris strikes.

A statement released by the White House said the move "seeks to reduce the growing threat of orbital debris to the common interest of all nations."

The Defense Department says there are 20,000 pieces of space debris and 800 operational US satellites circling Earth, a number that grows every year.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive memorandum to re-establish the United States Space Command.