A U.S. House of Representatives panel is proposing a whole Modern limb of the U.S. military . As part of a Defense Department authority bill for 2018 , the House Armed Services Committee voted to produce a 6th military military service , the U.S. Space Corps , according toFederal News Radio . The Space Corps would take over the space missions currently handle by the Air Force’sSpace Command .
While NASA is tasked with the scientific exploration of space , the Air Force is in charge of develop and maintaining the military ’s presence in space , including satellite , GPS technology , weapons , and aircraft ( like the experimental spaceplane thatrecently landedin Florida after 700 days in orbit on a classified mission ) . It works with NASA on a regular basis , too . Vandenberg Air Force Baseand Edwards Air Force Base in California have both served as workaday NASA found sites , for example .
The Space Corps is still just a proposal , and several House representatives tell Federal News Radio that they were surprised and alarmed by it coming up for a vote , meaning that it ’s not necessarily a shoo - in . The Air Force ’s top leadership has verbalize against the move , too .
However , proponents fence that the Air Force is n’t disposed to address blank space as an increasingly important element of war . “ We need to be ready to confront this , and yes , buried profoundly within the Air Force , you could do that , but it does n’t get the precedency it deserves , given how crucial it is and how it impacts everything that we do , ” Congressman Adam Smith , the committee ’s ranking popular member , was quoted by Federal News Radio as say .
Just as the Marine Corps is under the protection of the Navy , the Space Corps would be a distinct military service within the Air Force . It would be overseen by the Secretary of the Air Force , although it would also have a four - wizard chieftain of staff , a lieu with a rank and file equal to that of the Air Force chief of staff , leading the inspection and repair .
For the plan to move fore , the Department of Defense will have to prepare reports for Congress in 2018 detailing on the button how the novel service would be set up .
