United States Space Corps

The United States Space Corps was a proposed sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces that would have absorbed the United States Air Force's space warfare mission.

Many current and former Air Force, military, and space professionals are opposed to the measure, stating that such a proposal will not address acquisition issues, derail integration between space and other domains, and cause unnecessary bureaucracy that could make acquisition and budget problems worse rather than better. Rather they propose giving space more autonomy in the Air Force and creating a Rapid Capabilities Office dedicated to space acquisition.

Proposal history
In June 2017, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to include language creating the U.S. Space Corps in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The new service would be administered by the Secretary of the Air Force (much as how the Marine Corps falls under the Department of the Navy), but would be a separate branch, and guaranteed an equal seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A provision in the House version of the 2018 U.S. defense budget requested the creation of the Space Corps. The top Republican and Democrat on the strategic forces subcommittee, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Jim Cooper (D-TN), are leading this effort. Some members of the House Armed Services Committee, including Reps. Martha McSally (R-Arz.), a retired Air Force colonel, and Mike Turner (R-OH) expressed concern that this proposal did not have any hearings or studies on it, and just heard about the proposal during the markup session. U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee members Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John McCain (R-AZ), a former Naval Aviator, and Bill Nelson (D-FL), a retired Army Captain and Astronaut, expressed skepticism and opposition regarding the need for the creation of the Space Corps. Senator Nelson introduced an amendment to ban the creation of the Space Corps or any other similar service, which was passed by the Senate.

This proposal was opposed by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Air Force Space Command, and military leaders such as Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul Selva, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David L. Goldfein, and the current commander of Air Force Space Command General John W. Raymond. Other former military and space leaders in opposition to this effort include Secretary Sean O'Keefe, former Secretary of the Navy and NASA administrator; Secretary Deborah Lee James, former Secretary of the Air Force; Secretary Michael B. Donley, former Secretary of the Air Force; Secretary Lisa Disbrow, former Under Secretary of the Air Force; General Robert Kehler, former commander of U.S. Strategic Command and former commander of Air Force Space Command; General Victor E. Renuart Jr., former commander of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD; and Lieutenant General Edward G. Anderson III, former deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD. The former commander of Air Force Space Command, General Lance W. Lord, is supportive of the effort, on the condition that the Army's and Navy's space programs are absorbed into the new Space Corps.

The specific language in the House bill authorizing the creation of the Space Corps was in H.R. 2810 Title XVI, Subtitle A, section 1601, §8091.

The idea of a separate Space Corps was killed in conference, rather the 2018 NDAA merely boosts the position of Air Force Space Command, by extending the term of its commander to six years, and making it the sole command for all Air Force space forces.