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US Space Force - What Is It And What Will It Do? (6th US Military Branch) - YouTube
Channel: The Infographics Show
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Space: the final frontier- and for our modern
militaries, the indispensable 'high ground'.
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Whereas decades ago, whoever controlled the
sky would likely win the war, space has become
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the new critical high ground that nations
must protect and defend against their enemies
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if they want to ensure victory.
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In today’s episode of The Infographics Show,
we ask: Space Force: What Would It Do?
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Why is space so important to a modern military?
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The answer to that question lies in the unique
vantage point that space provides- with a
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small constellation of satellites, you can
see everything happening in the world at once,
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and with cloud-penetrating radar, even a rainy
day won't hide the enemy from your sight.
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Being able to see means being able to target
an enemy with today's high-tech weapons; everything
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from cruise missiles to gps guided artillery
shells take advantage of advanced recon capabilities
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to locate, track, and destroy an enemy.
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This is why we don't carpet-bomb our foes
the way we used to back in World War II.
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But space is important for communications
too- typical radio communications only work
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for short ranges, thanks to the curvature
of the earth, and can be prone to atmospheric
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interference or interception/jamming by the
enemy.
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With a satellite in orbit though, military
units can always be in direct communication
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with each other, no matter where in the world
they are, and satellites allow a military
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to deploy advanced and very secure communication
technologies that are difficult to intercept
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or jam.
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Basically, space is important because with
eyes in the sky, you can always see your enemy,
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and you can always talk to your friends.
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And with so many high-tech weapon systems,
there's no nation on earth that space is more
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important to than the United States, who,
with 123 assets in space, has nearly twice
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as many military satellites as Russia, the
number 2 contender, with 74.
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But what would an American Space Force do
exactly?
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Well, at first it wouldn't be as glamorous
as what you see in sci-fi movies, though given
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the rate of human technological advancement,
it's only a matter of time before we take
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to the stars and war inevitably comes with
us.
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The first job of a US Space Force would be
to consolidate all the various space assets
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each American military service branch has.
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Right now, American military satellites are
divided up between the major branches of the
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military: the Air Force, Army, and Navy, as
well as some of the federal institutions such
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as the National Reconnaissance Office.
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In the event of a major war, it may be hard
to coordinate between all those assets and
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share information freely back and forth between
the services; this is where the US Space Force
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would come in.
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By consolidating US space assets into a single
branch of the military, the Space Force would
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make it easier to coordinate the sharing of
critical information and respond to enemy
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attempts to sabotage or destroy American military
satellites.
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Commanders in a battle zone would have just
one agency to ask for help from, rather than
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trying to get information from multiple agencies
at once.
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The Space Force would also be tasked with
military surveillance and reconnaissance.
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It would be responsible for developing new
recon technologies and coordinating with American
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industry on how to best get them into space.
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Once in space, the Space Force would monitor
for enemy activity and be ready to immediately
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raise the alarm if an attack is suspected.
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But Space Force surveillance would also be
important during peacetime- in recent years
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American space assets have been the leading
source of information on the North Korean
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nuclear program.
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By carefully monitoring suspected test sites,
American space assets were able to determine
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when underground detonations were taking place,
as well as estimating yield and even giving
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insights to the type of weapon tested.
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Reconnaissance photos of missile test sites
showed us how close to building and perfecting
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a long-range missile the North Koreans actually
were.
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In the future, the US Space Force would take
over these duties, meaning its members would
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have to be on constant alert against rogue
states.
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Another area of responsibility for the US
Space Force would be in the realm of logistics.
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Where it would take a day or more to move
even just a few pieces of military hardware
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from one place to the next by air, sea, or
land, an orbital logistics hub could have
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that same hardware anywhere in the world in
just a few hours.
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While this is still currently outside the
realm of our technology, it's not as far off
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as one might think, and America's Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA,
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has been looking into what it would take to
deliver supplies from orbit to the ground
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safely for years.
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While in the next few years, we might see
orbital drops of hardware such as food, ammunition
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and medical supplies, it might not be long
before American servicemen are themselves
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stationed in orbit and ready to deploy within
a moment's notice.
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As one senior American official once said,
“Getting 2,000 American boots on the ground
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anywhere in the world within 2 hours could
stop a lot of wars before they even begin.”
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But why put troops in space if you can put
weapons instead?
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While the militarization of space is a hot-button
topic, and most American defense officials
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are not eager to open up another arena of
weaponized conflict, the reality is that in
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all likelihood someone sooner or later will
put physical weapons in space.
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Despite the Outer Space Treaty banning weapons
of mass destruction in space, it does not
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specifically prohibit conventional weapons-
a fact that the Soviet Union took advantage
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of in the 1970s when it was the first, and
only, nation to put a weapon in space.
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Installed aboard its Almaz space station,
the R-23M Kartech cannon was designed to fire
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explosive shells at American space vessels.
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But the Kartech was only the tip of the iceberg
for what's possible if you really want to
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weaponize space.
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Known as 'Rods From God' and codenamed Thor,
the US military studied the possibility of
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creating an orbital strike platform that used
nothing more than solid tungsten rods about
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20 feet long and 1 foot in diameter to deliver
devastating bombardments against enemy installations
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or troop concentrations.
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Hopelessly outnumbered by the hordes of Soviet
tanks that threatened to swallow up Cold War
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Europe, American scientists were looking for
a way to neutralize large armored columns
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without the use of nuclear weapons and thus
avoid the risk of nuclear war.
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They theorized that using kinetic energy alone,
a telephone pole-sized rod made of solid tungsten
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and equipped only with a very basic guidance
package and a pair of fins, could deliver
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a blast along the lines of a small tactical
nuclear weapon.
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Physics shows that they weren't wrong- dropped
from orbit, those rods would have reached
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speeds up to ten times the speed of sound.
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Since Force = Mass times Acceleration, each
rod would have generated an incredible amount
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of energy.
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Despite President Trump's executive order,
the purpose and aim of the US Space Force
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is still under official review, with most
defense insiders saying that the need for
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a dedicated space force isn't yet critical.
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Yet as the expansion of the American commercial
space industry has shown, humanity's expansion
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into the solar system and beyond is inevitable,
and as our own history shows: where man goes,
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war follows.
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Eventually the United States and every other
modern nation on earth is going to need a
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space force, or be at the mercy of those who
have one.
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So, what do you think about the US Space Force?
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Should the US be preparing for future conflicts
now so as to help prevent them in the first
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place, or would it only invite other nations
to start militarizing space?
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Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Also be sure to check out our other video
called Moab - the Mother of All Bombs.
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Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe.
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See you next time!
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