Congress does not like the space force, so what about the Space Coastguard?

The US Space Force was mentioned for the first time in March 2018 by President Donald Trump. Trump, who at the time admitted that the idea was a joke, told an audience of members of the service: "We could even have a space force, develop another, space force. We have the air force, we will have the space force. "

D & # 39; agreement. A February 2019 document describes a little better roles and missions of a Pentagon arm based in the space: "The DoD must be ready to ensure freedom of operation in the area. space, to deter attacks and, where appropriate, to defeat space and total space threats to the national security interests of the United States, their allies and their partners. "The Ministry of Defense has requested $ 72 million in fiscal year 2020 to support the Space Force."

Congressional enthusiasm for the Space Force has been lukewarm to say the least, the essential question being whether a military weapon exclusively devoted to space is an interesting improvement over the division of space missions between the existing armed forces.

The House of Representatives responded to the Defense Department's request for funding by approving only $ 15 million, while stating that it was not intended for the establishment of a space force. In addition, as reported by Defense News, the Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee of the House said that his proposal on Space Force would be "different from that proposed by the White House".

The United States may need some sort of space force – that's when people do not agree. Is space power something we have to spend money on now? If we want to build an armed force for space, perhaps we would not need a defense-only military force, at least for now. Maybe we need a cosmic version of the Coast Guard.

The United States Coast Guard was established in 1790 as a repressive anti-smuggling agency under the Department of the Treasury. Now part of the Department of Homeland Security, where it has been since September 11, the Coast Guard has 87,000 men and women stationed around the world. Over the last two centuries, the Coast Guard's mission has been modified to focus on the safety of ports and waterways, provide aids to navigation, search and rescue operations, security maritime and law enforcement. (We should add that the Coast Guard also has its own underfunding issues.)

Now take this set of missions and imagine it in the space. Orbits, such as low Earth orbit and other locations, are the "ports and waterways" of space. They are often threatened by space debris, radiation-producing solar flares and other natural or man-made threats. As humans venture into space more frequently, a poor astronaut, cosmonaut or taikonaut will encounter problems, and search and rescue in space will become a necessity.

The space is extremely dangerous and, to build confidence in the security of space, the United States will need a government agency empowered to set the rules for space security and investigate major accidents.

Finally, although Senator Ted Cruz's concern about "space pirates" is going too far at this point, we will eventually need a law enforcement agency to operate in the space field.

Unlike the Space Force, the US government and the private sector could use a space guard at the moment. On Earth, commercial and recreational sailors have peace of mind knowing that they can count on the Coast Guard if they have problems. The US government is committed to returning to the Moon by 2024, while commercial space entities SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and others intend to place humans in the space – but no one is in the depths of space if these manned missions need help.

A mission could also be entrusted to a space guard: to defend the Earth against asteroids, comets and other gigantic space objects.

A space guard and a space force are not mutually exclusive: America needs a navy and a coast guard. There is a justification for both a space guard and a space force, and a spatial force is only a matter of time.

The question is, what do we need first? If Congress decides not to need a space force yet, perhaps it should consider creating a space guard.