United States Officially Establishes Space Force

The United States has officially established “the Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Services”. Space Force is the first new branch of the Armed Forces to be established since 1947. It will be the duty of the Space Force to “protect the interests of the United States in space”, “deter aggression in, from, and to space”, and “conduct space operations”.

Space Force was approved as part of the more comprehensive National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020. The $738 billion defense budget also included expansions of economic sanctions, surveillance, and deterrence of North Korea as well as establishing 3 months of paid parental leave for federal employees. Congress approved the NDAA with a vote of 377-48 in the House of Representatives and 86-8 in the Senate, and President Trump signed it into law on Friday.