The Space Corps is getting closer to reality. In the early morning hours of June 13, the House Armed Services Committee voted to establish a United States Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force. The name Space Force, first proposed by President Trump, appears to be dropped. Long live the Space Force.

The Armed Services Committee had begun marking up the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on June 12. A major part of the legislative year, the NDAA determines the annual budget and purchases of the Department of Defense. The Space Corps amendment was bipartisan, proposed by Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.). The NDAA passed with a vote of 33-24.

"As I have said time and time again, the future of war fighting will be fought in space," Rogers said in a statement. "Russia and China are surpassing us in space capabilities and we must have a military branch focused solely on this mission."

“It is not a $13 billion expenditure, a gold-plated plan like had been proposed to us by the secretary of the Air Force," said Cooper. "It is instead a reorganization so that space professionals can be properly recognized for their skill and ability and promoted.”

The Space Corps has gone through several iterations. When President Trump first spoke publicly about the idea, the proposal was for a completely separate wing of the military. While the new proposal doesn't call for a separate branch of the military, it does offer the Space Corps some autonomy. Similar to the Marine Corps, the Space Corps would be headed up by a four-star Commandant who would become part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Among other highlights, noted by SpaceNews: the Secretary of the Air Force "may establish a separate, alternative acquisition system for defense space acquisitions." The Space Corps will receive “functions, assets and obligations of the space elements of the Air Force (including all property, records, installations, activities, facilities, agencies and projects)."

There will be a one-year transition period between the Air Force and the Space Corps, beginning on January 1, 2021. The Committee has given both entities a little leeway, setting a final deadline for its completion on December 31, 2023.

However, it's not quite a done deal. The House Committee still has to reconcile with the Senate's NDAA language, which calls the entity the Space Force. But while it was roundly mocked (and criticized) upon announcement, it's becoming clear that the U.S military will have its own presence in space soon, whatever the name.

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