While researching documents related to the formation of the Space Force, it made the most sense to begin with Space Policy Directive-4. The Space Policy Directives have been a series of executive orders released by President Trump starting in 2017. The first three of these established the desire to return to the moon; discussed regulations of the commercial use of space; and worked through how to approach space traffic management, respectively. The fourth directive establishes the United States Space Force.
There are a few things to note about this document. First, it is of course quite clear the President Trump had nearly nothing to do with the specific words, and likely even the ideas, present within. It is functionally known by most people (hopefully?) that any legal document produced by the government is written by committee, contains strange legalese statements that have been passed on over the years, and the names on it may not represent anything about the authorship. With all this known, it is difficult to fully understand it until you read an actual document whose sole name of ownership is a particularly in-eloquent individual. This is more of a general idea to keep in mind, that there are people who are technically held accountable for what is written, but there is very little transparency otherwise.
Second, these particular executive orders are actually quite easy to read casually. The PDF version I have is only five and a half relatively short pages, and the language actually feels mostly clear. I recommend reading it yourself.
Third, it is important to keep in mind that many documents written and released by the government are done so from a particular viewpoint. There is a way to slip in subjective ideas that are stated as facts, with no caveats presented and no research provided. I am not a naturally skeptical person, so I have a hard time digging into these as much as others, but keeping that notion while reading and taking a few extra seconds for each sentence can be quite beneficial.
Now, to the document itself. The details laid down (for example, Section 2, “Definitions”) are not particularly interesting. In short, this is an executive order detailing that the Secretary of Defense should put together some proposal to the President, which will then be submitted to Congress, allowing the funding to actually create the U.S. Space Force. It details some broad goals the Space Force is meant to meet, and has some administrivia surrounding the organization and leadership of the Space Force.
One thing that is interesting to note is some of the internal military politics I’ve read about with regards to organization. Of course, the Air Force was rather against the creation of this new department. But many people pointed out it’s not a huge deal, as the Space Force will be under the Department of the Air Force. This is analogous to the relationship between the Navy and the Marines, where the Marines are a separate branch, but fall under the department of the Navy.
The directive in question sheds a little light on this now. From section 10 of the directive:
As the United States Space Force matures, and as national security requires, it will become necessary to create a separate military department, to be known as the Department of the Space Force. This department will take over some or all responsibilities for the United States Space Force from the Department of the Air Force.
Space Policy Directive-4
So while some people have aimed to downplay the relative importance and use of this newly formed branch, it is clear that from the outset there have been designs for it to increase its reach. This is not a judgement on whether it’s a good development, just an interesting piece of information I found while reading.
I want to quickly discuss the third point to keep in mind above. Immediately section 1 gives us something to consider:
Space is integral to our way of life, our national security, and modern warfare. Although United States space systems have historically maintained a technological advantage over those of our potential adversaries, those potential adversaries are now advancing their space capabilities and actively developing ways to deny our use of space in a crisis or conflict.
Space Policy Directive-4
Notice how each statement is made as a fact, despite the wiggle room in each one. There are no specific examples, no citations, just statements. Furthermore, the framing is overall negative and, well, defensive. There is talk of potential adversaries and future crisis or conflict. There is no discussion of the amazing collaboration that the use of space has allowed the globe over the last thirty years, but simply one of conquest. I personally find that disheartening, even if there is truth in each statement quoted above. This is why the Space Force is so intriguing to me. It can be framed in so many ways, and will subsequently be used in just as many.
In the next post I plan to look through some of the actual legislation that was passed to establish and provide funding for the Space Force, and see how the phrasing compares to the various goals laid out in this directive.