Smith, as chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for space programs, initiated the legislation that created the committee. Creating a fifth branch of the military in outer space was a major issue of Smith s short-lived run for president in 1999. At the time, he said America s Manifest Destiny was to control space. Those ideas are echoed in the commission s report, which was delivered to Rumsfeld in January. Not surprisingly, since he had written sections of it, Rumsfeld ordered nearly all of its recommendations adopted.
Reality indicates that space is no different.
Given this virtual certainty, the United States must develop the means both to deter and to defend against hostile acts in and from space. This will require superior space capabilities.