By Ophelia Kimber, Staff Writer
SPACE: The concerning reality of space becoming a war zone.
Who could have guessed that the future outlined in the sci-fi movie Stars Wars, from 1977, was actually becoming a reality? On December 20, 2019, the Trump Administration created the United States Space Force (USSF) as part of a sixth branch of the United States military. According to the USSF, its responsibilities include obtaining military space systems, advancing the military doctrine for space power, and organizing space forces to present to Combatant Commands. It’s hard not to automatically assume that the new military branch isn’t some strange new Star Wars turned reality, and technically speaking it’s not, but it’s frightening how reliant the military has become on the control over space.
With the intent of protecting military satellites and spy-ware, the USSF is in charge of placing technology in space that provides America with an advantage in conflict and military threats. The USSF’s aims to protect national security are reasonable in that regard, however, the involvement of missiles and lasers to destroy satellites sounds far too familiar, and while criticizing the USSF as an institution and its goals itself is not necessarily out of the question, the main takeaway is the militarization of space. During the signing ceremony, President Trump declared that the “[Trump Administration] has recognized space as a warfighting domain,” and whether he meant it literally and in forms of combat or technology, it’s still quite alarming. The fact of the matter is that space and “warfighting” should have never been in the same sentence to start.
It’s no secret that space has been militarized for quite some time and that the use of satellites has vast amounts of benefits when it comes to national relations and war, however, the USSF increases the possibility of armed combat not only on Earth, but above it. Competition between nations to be the dominant leader in space and military affairs are the primary causes of space becoming a war zone and even with the USSF’s focus to deter violence, the new branch already preparing for possibilities of warfare in space is concerning. Space, once untouchable and purely designated to discovery, is now a critical component for military advantage. According to the Space Treaty of 1967, the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space is prohibited and the treaty, agreed upon by 105 countries and signed yet not ratified by 25, as stated by the Arms Control Association, presents laws regarding space as a peaceful outlet for exploration. The USSF along with other nations’ new military space branches appear to be verging away from this outlook. It is clear that united interest in space exploration is no longer evident, but rather the use of it as a domain for warfare. New scientific developments regarding space are being explored every day, such as the Hubble observations which suggest a flaw in astronomers theory of dark matter, or the most recent observations of the possibility of life on Venus, but advancements in technology have proven that society is incapable of excluding such environments in war. War at large is agreeably unideal, but the reality is becoming too familiar with science fiction in the race to be the dominant military space power, and the possibility of warfare in space is just as unbelievable and frightening as the absurd likelihood of Chewbacca doing Darth Vader’s dirty work.
Space and warfare should undoubtedly have a disconnect, and the moment nations start focusing on the possibility of national use of space for warfare is the moment that it becomes a reality. Space is no environment to be investing militarization in. According to W. J. Hennigan of Time Magazine, the USSF has already been given 15.4 billion dollars for 2021, with that amount set to increase by 2.6 billion dollars in the next five years. This is an incredible investment for a new institution that has to face reorganization and unlike the Air Force, Army, and Navy, are dealing with an environment that is almost entirely unknown. Space is the keeper of the future, an outlet where anything is possible, and a balance where everything perfectly adds up functioning seamlessly without fault. It holds beauty in the ever so frightening questions of existence, and there should be no reason for human warfare to disrupt this harmony. Space should be no place for war, and despite its many and undeniable benefits in weather forecasting, everyday GPS systems, communication, and television, the extent to which humans dominate space and not the other way around is becoming greater and more distressing, and investments like the ones granted to the USSF could undoubtedly benefit space exploration. The United States is not the only country with this new military branch. Both Russia and China have been developing space weapons, and the USSF is seemingly a growing concern and response to this. After a Russian satellite launched in 2019 appeared to have “birthed” two other satellites that flew alarmingly close to one of the United State’s most critical spy-ware installations and then launched an unknown object into space, the USSF in relation to the protection of critical technologies like this is understandable. However, the growing amount of space-weaponry being produced by various rival nations sends a relatively counterproductive message towards the USSF’s aim to deter violence. In Time Magazine’s issue, on June 17 the Pentagon explained that the U.S. is already beginning to coordinate with allies and prepare for war in space. Space has been competition and military rivalry between nations for years, just look at the Cold War, but with new institutions like the USSF, the competition is evidently getting out of hand. With the direction things are going in, space is inevitably going to get wound up in warfare, and it’s worrisome how far national powers are willing to take it.