---
title: "Trump Signs Order to Create a U.S. Space Command"
description: "President Trump just signed a one-page memorandum for the creation of a U.S. Space Command."
date: "2018-12-18"
modified: "2018-12-18"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/trump-executive-order-space-command-space-force"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "space command"
  - "space force"
  - "trump administration"
---

# Trump Signs Order to Create a U.S. Space Command

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/trump-executive-order-space-command-space-force.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Space Command

It's official: U.S. President Donald Trump [signed an executive order](<https://apnews.com/dab5e26c7c304399a862996c61106333>) Tuesday for the creation of a "U.S. Space Command."

The idea is to "streamline command and control of time-sensitive operations" and "consolidate space operations under a single authority" under a newly created Space Command, [according to *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/17/politics/pence-space-force-pentagon/index.html>). It could also be a response to what news outlets have [called a](<https://theconversation.com/the-us-plan-for-a-space-force-risks-escalating-a-space-arms-race-101368>) "space arms race." U.S. politicians have [raised concerns](<https://spacenews.com/u-s-intelligence-russia-and-china-will-have-operational-anti-satellite-weapons-in-a-few-years/>), for example, over world powers like China and Russia developing possible [anti-satellite technology](<https://www.newsweek.com/russia-china-testing-missiles-could-blast-us-satellites-out-space-869044>).

## Cheap Alternative

The Trump Administration has been advocating for a "Space Force" — an all-out military branch — since President Trump [first introduced the concept](<https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/03/13/trump-introduces-idea-of-space-force.html>) back in March.

"It is not enough to have an American presence in space," said U.S. Vice President Mike Pence [during a speech](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-plan-mike-pence>) at the Pentagon in August, for instance. "We must have American dominance in space,"

The Space Command [could be laying the groundwork](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/12/18/it-works-toward-creating-trumps-space-force-white-house-directs-pentagon-establish-space-command/>) for the Space Force. It'll be cheaper, for one thing: the *AP* reports it'll cost just $800 million over five years, compared to a projected [$13 billion for the Space Force](<https://spacenews.com/wilson-13-billion-space-force-cost-estimate-is-conservative/>) over the same period.

## Version 2.0

The executive order could also be a concession to political reality. Congress's Spending Bill for 2019 [didn't include](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-congress-bill>) any funding for a Space Force, so it will be at least a year until we could see such a branch created under the U.S. military's command.

And the new Space Command won't be the first in the U.S: the country founded its first Space Command in 1985, the *AP* [pointed out](<https://www.apnews.com/6485550c424444a99f399bbe501aaf88>), which was disbanded in 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when attention was refocused to homeland security.

**READ MORE:** [The Latest: Trump signs order to create US Space Command](<https://apnews.com/dab5e26c7c304399a862996c61106333>) \[*The Associated Press*\]

**More on the Space Force:** [Here’s How President Trump and His VP Plan to Get Their Space Force](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-plan-mike-pence>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)