---
title: "House Committee Kills “Space Force” in Favor of “Space Corps”"
description: "A House committee has decided that the U.S. does need a space-focused military branch, but that it should be called the Space Corps and not the Space Force."
date: "2019-06-13"
modified: "2019-06-13"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/house-kills-space-force-space-corps"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "Space Force"
tags:
  - "congress"
  - "legislation"
  - "space corps"
  - "space force"
---

# House Committee Kills “Space Force” in Favor of “Space Corps”

![A House committee has decided that the U.S. does need a space-focused military branch, but that it should be called the Space Corps and not the Space Force.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/house-kills-space-force-space-corps.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Porter777 via Wikimedia Commons/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Dropping Names

The United States appears on track to get a Space Force — or a Space something, at least.

On Wednesday morning, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) began debating and revising the [2020 National Defense Authorization Act](<https://www.justsecurity.org/64531/whats-in-the-new-draft-national-defense-authorization-act/>), the legislation that sets the military's defense policies and budget for the year.

Before the end of the 21-hour-long session, they decided that the U.S. *does* need a new military branch focused on protecting its interests in space — but that it should be called the [Space Corps](<https://spacenews.com/house-armed-services-committee-votes-to-create-a-u-s-space-corps/>) instead of the name President Donald Trump wanted: [Space Force](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-administration-space-force-cost>).

## Off-World Warriors

The name change came as part of an amendment presented by Strategic Forces Subcommittee chairman Jim Cooper (D-Tenn) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and approved unanimously by the panel.

Per the [amendment](<https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/hasc-approves-space-corps-not-space-force/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Spacepolicyonline+%28SpacePolicyOnline+News%29>), a 4-star commandant appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate will lead the Space Corps, which will be nestled [under the Department of the Air Force.](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-air-force-bill>) Its purpose will be to "protect the interests of the United States in space; deter aggression in, from, and to space, and conduct space operations."

"It is not a $13 billion expenditure, a gold-plated plan like had been proposed to us by the secretary of the Air Force," Cooper [told *The Washington Times*](<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/13/house-panel-oks-the-creation-of-space-corps-a-new-/>). "It is instead a reorganization so that space professionals can be properly recognized for their skill and ability and promoted."

## What's in a Name?

In the [next few weeks](<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/13/house-armed-services-committee-advances-733-billio/>), the HASC-approved 2020 NDAA will go up for a vote in the entire House of Representatives, while a [version](<https://spacenews.com/senate-armed-services-bill-shakes-up-management-of-air-force-space-acquisitions/>) of the 2020 NDAA recently approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee will go up for a vote in the Senate.

The Senate version approves the creation of a Space Force, so at some point, members of Congress will need to reconcile the language difference between the [two NDAAs](<https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/IF10515.pdf>).

But semantics aside, one thing appears clear: U.S. lawmakers recognize space as a [military battleground of the future](<https://futurism.com/shadow-war-space-warfare-battlefield>).

**READ MORE:** [House Armed Services Committee votes to create a U.S. Space Corps](<https://spacenews.com/house-armed-services-committee-votes-to-create-a-u-s-space-corps/>) \[*SpaceNews*\]

**More on space warfare:** *[New Book: The US Is in a “Shadow War.” Space Is the Battlefield.](<https://futurism.com/shadow-war-space-warfare-battlefield>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)