Raise the Black Flag: Reimaging Space Force for the Biden Administration and Beyond

Let’s be honest, the US Space Force is hardly the most respectable service branch of the US military. The punchline of many a joke from those who’ve served and from Hollywood, the US military’s youngest branch is already in need of a massive overhaul. At present, Space Force is a skeleton crew solution in search of a problem owned by a branch (the US Air Force) that values it as much as a neglectful parent values a redheaded stepchild’s macaroni art. Space Force’s own attempts at marketing and creating service culture from scratch have not helped either. From an inability to explain its mission to the public to its ridiculous attempts at branding, the Space Force makes itself look like the burning orbital debris that it should be guarding against. As laughable as many have made Space Force out to be, a war between major powers such as Russia and China will undoubtedly feature operations in space to deny communications, navigation, and reconnaissance from above. We need not yet have starfighters and moon bases to consider the vacuum of space a strategic resource worth fighting for and defending with a “black water” navy. With a new administration reviewing our national security priorities and missions from top to bottom, I’d like to make a few of my own recommendations on how to make the most out of Space Force.

First, the US Air Force does not want or deserve Space Force as a separate branch. That’s fine, any fan of science fiction knows that the black water service of any military belongs under its Navy. As the nation’s key instrument of global presence and power projection, the Navy better understands how to put the Space Force to use in support of that mission. The “ultimate high ground” is just another ocean, the “8th Sea” upon which the US should project power above and below in order to secure lines of communication, trade, and (soon) migratory transit. The US Navy’s role has always been to secure those three things, even when our leaders refused to accept that reality and properly fund it prior to the turn of the 20th century. The Air Force does not value this mission, nor does it have the institutional history to properly carry it out. Space is as much about international politics and diplomacy as it is zero-G warfare and satellite relays. Historically speaking, politics and international presence is the Navy’s department.

Next, the Space Force must do more than simply focus on working satellite relays and managing launch facilities. That is the mission of the old space component of the US Air Force that lacked vision and motivation beyond anything other than traditional means of airpower. It must create an outline of offensive and defensive measures, in conjunction with congress, that can be integrated into the joint force structure. Most importantly, this must be done by conducting operations in such a manor so as to not accelerate the risk of Kessler Syndrome. For those unfamiliar, Kessler Syndrome is a theorized catastrophe in which debris in orbit (from old satellites, trash, and anti-satellite weapons) becomes so clustered that it becomes the orbital equivalent of a nuclear chain reaction. Each new piece of debris raises the risk of collision with functioning orbital systems, disrupting and destroying more until our orbital layers are so polluted that they become useless. Offensive operations should seek to degrade the targeting and optical capabilities of satellites without destroying the satellite’s ability to maneuver or blowing it into a million pieces. Balancing the need to properly deter and if need be, win operations in the vacuum of space with the very real threat of massive environmental catastrophe in orbit will require Space Force to develop weapons and tactics that either minimize damage or can effectively remove such debris from orbit on a massive scale. In fact, various groups are already attempting to make the latter possible. Defense in space is not just about securing our lines of communication but enabling maneuver by keeping corridors clear of debris.

Planet side, the USSF must expand its basing operations around the United States. First and foremost, I would prioritize securing and expanding Kodiak Island (Pacific Spaceport Complex) in Alaska beyond the public-private partnership that presently operates there. The Arctic is an increasingly relevant domain and expanding Space Force to the high north would make both a more visible issue to the public and to policymakers. In addition, expanding northern launch operations could make operations at the latitude in orbit easier and disperse our space capabilities across a wider area making it harder for the enemy to hit our launch and command and control infrastructure, ensuring we retain access to orbit. We must enhance our partnerships with the private sector to make the space infrastructure market more competitive and promote an overhaul of our math science programs in order to retain our edge in engineering. The 21st century space race is about more than political theater; it is for our very survival and continued growth as a species.

Consequently, the US cannot go it alone in space. The legalities and complexities of orbital operations are mostly undeveloped beyond the more than 50-year-old Outer Space Treaty. In addition to limiting escalation in orbit with Russia and China through arms control and other communicative measures, the US should actively work with our partners around the world to not only develop their own space agencies but to also raise and integrate their capabilities with ours. Coordination will not only enhance capabilities, but it will also reduce accidents and avoidable catastrophes that happen during all uncoordinated military operations. Space belongs to all of humanity, and it is our duty as the leading democratic voice to promote those ideals while pushing back against the very real threats that China and Russia pose in that domain.

In conclusion, we face a modern version of the paradox of annihilation that generations past faced during the first cold war under the constant threat of nuclear Armageddon. We have no desire to deny humanity the great expanse of the universe but given the choice between deterrence and destruction by those who wish to do us harm for their own selfish purposes, we much hypocritically choose well-armed deterrence while demanding everyone lay down their arms. In leading by example and partnering with our allies, we can better ensure that day of annihilation never comes. And if it does come, we must be prepared to surmount the threat and minimize catastrophic damage for the welfare of all humankind. US Space Force is a joke because we’ve allowed it to become one. Just like many of the characters in my forthcoming novel, EX SUPRA, I too fear the burning in the skies that comes with orbital warfare and what a lack of capability means for the odds of winning a great power conflict. The threat is real, even if Space Force’s capabilities are so far mostly imaginary. That must change. The destruction of decades of progress, loss of billions of dollars, and critical military and civilian assets are all on the line, not to mention our lone path to greater universe. We must be prepared to keep those lines of communication, trade, and transit open and that starts with reimagining Space Force not as a skeleton crew of enablers, but a black water navy capable of seizing and protecting the ultimate high ground.