When asked about the possibility of disbanding Space Force — the recently formed United States military branch created under President Donald Trump — current White House Press Secretary (Jen Psaki of President Biden’s administration) laughed it off.
“Wooowww… Space Force. It’s the plane of today!” she joked.
The comment was dismissive, serving as perhaps the first departure from the Biden Administration’s promise to treat reporters and adversaries alike with dignity and respect.
It’s true that Space Force has hilarious meme-worthiness, but is Space Force stupid? Does it deserve to be laughed at and dismissed? Questions worth exploring.
Why Space Force is hilarious but not (necessarily) dumb
When President Donald Trump announced Space Force it was met with both praise and criticism, from Republicans and Democrats respectively, who applauded and chided the President for the move.
The agency’s purpose and merit took a back seat to comedy when the Space Force logo was selected and announced by none other than President Donald Trump himself.
As it turns out, the Space Force logo is a near carbon copy of the “Starfleet Command” logo from the fictional television series Star Trek.
The Space Force uniforms were a separate debacle, debuting with a camouflage style identical to the army’s, begging the question of why green and brown camo are appropriate for outer space.
It gets worse: the White House would then announce that Space Force members are officially called Guardians. That’s right… Guardians. Like the movie (Guardians of the Galaxy).
It didn’t take long for Netflix to jump on the bahaha-bandwagon, quickly announcing a comedy show called “Space Force” featuring Steve Carell (whose uniform looks decidedly better).
Yes, it’s funny and worth watching, but is the real Space Force a joke?
Elon Musk weighs in
What do you think the World’s Richest Man (@elonmusk) thinks about Space Force? His opinion should hold some weight: he’s the founder of SpaceX (and Tesla) whose company’s mission is to inhabit Mars.
Just a few days ago, Musk gave a surprise interview on the trending mobile app Clubhouse, where he revealed his timeline to reach mars: 5.5 years. He later concluded that, “The important thing is that we establish Mars as a self-sustaining civilization.”
Why should the world take Elon Musk seriously while simultaneously discrediting the ambitions of Space Force?
If it’s because SpaceX appears serious while Space Force appears meme-worthy, you may have just stepped in a pile of philosophical doo doo; in the same Clubhouse interview, Elon Musk supported the possibility of joke crypto-currency Dogecoin becoming the world’s primary currency.
“Arguably the most entertaining outcome, the most ironic outcome would be that Dogecoin becomes the currency of Earth of the future.”
Shortly thereafter, Musk declared he was taking a break from Twitter and the following day his company’s Mars-bound Starship test flight exploded in a fiery crash.
But we needn’t wait for his opinion on Space Force. In a February 2020 “fireside chat” at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium, Musk gave his seal of approval:
“I think it’s actually cool that the creation of the Space Force is happening,” he said, “It makes sense that there’s a major branch for every domain.”
Why Space Force is Stupid
The stupidest thing about Space Force, it seems, is the public’s inability to separate their hatred for Donald Trump with the reality that a separately-branded military division for space makes sense.
Filthy rich people are already trying to colonize Mars and Elon Musk isn’t alone: Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame, the World’s Other Richest Man, is also trying to colonize Mars with his own company, Blue Origin.
The world’s most famous space expert, Neil deGrasse Tyson, further emphasizes the importance of space: “the world’s first trillionaire will be the person that exploits the natural resources of space itself.”
What do you think will happen in 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, or 500 years from now? When other billionaires join the fray? When less-than-trust-worthy governments like Russia and China stake claim to the spoils of space?
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “Space” is a frontier that will eventually become a battleground. It’s only a matter of time.
Did Donald Trump prematurely create the Space Force to bolster his legacy in the history books? Almost certainly. Does that surprise anyone? It shouldn’t. But Trump getting credit for anything besides deteriorating the fabric of America is too much for many people to handle.
Let’s put it in perspective:
- Space Force declared stupid in 2021
- Elon Musk wants to reach Mars by the year 2027
- Elon Musk wants to inhabit Mars by 2070 by nuking the planet or orbiting huge mirrors around it
- Neil deGrasse Tyson claims the world’s first trillionaire will be the one who exploits space
It begs the question: what is premature about Space Force? And if Space Force is premature, why are the issues confronting liberal environmentalists so urgent?
It seems that those claiming Space Force is stupid are more concerned with the vanity of others than seeking truth and reality.
Space Force is not unique
It’s a popular misconception that President Trump created Space Force from thin air: the United States has had an active military presence in space since the 1960s under the US Space Command, part of the United States Air Force.
Critics would argue that the US Space Command was perfectly fine operating within the heirarchy of the Air Force. It should be noted that this won’t change: the Space Force falls under the Department of the Air Force the same way that the Marines are their own branch but are within the Department of the Navy.
In the literal grand scheme of things — our solar system, galaxy, and universe — the Space Force makes sense as a brand uniquely positioned to deal with all things extra terrestrial. Those things are a more current and immediate issue than one might think.
Satellites orbiting earth are constantly in harms path from space debris and asteroids. Having “Space Force” protect our satellites is more about commerce than the safety of physical objects: some of today’s most valuable companies are built upon GPS technology that require safety in space (Google Maps, Uber, etc) and it’s not inconceivable that we’ll soon be protecting our satellites from international adversaries (foreign countries, hopefully not aliens) that seek to destabilize America.
Just as environmentalists propose immediate measures to prevent future devastation to our planet, making Space Force responsible for protecting earth from an Armageddon-like asteroid impact seems like a topic worth addressing now, not an afterthought to be assigned to our current Air Force.
Conclusion: Space Force isn’t Stupid…
But Donald Trump is still the worst President in the history of the United States of America, Jen Psaki should be more faithful to the Biden administration’s commitment to end partisan politics, and Space Force is a good idea. Or at least not a bad one.
