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Trump Space Force - A Real Need But Hazy Planning

by Associated Press

   WASHINGTON --

   President Donald Trump has demanded that Pentagon create a new military
   service, a Space Force to assure "American dominance in space." And
   with that demand, Trump has injected urgency into the debate over the
   best way to protect U.S. interests in space, both military and
   commercial.

   But his approach has left many struggling to understand basics such as
   what a Space Force would do and how much it might cost.

   The Pentagon is expected to have enough details by early next year to
   include a Space Force plan in its 2020 budget request.

   The idea has taken on a life of its own at Trump's rallies. That's
   partly due to his conflating of the nation's civilian space program
   with the military's separate role of providing space-based navigation
   and communications satellites.