The administration of the American president, Donald Trump, has announced on Thursday the ambitious plan of the "Space Force" crime as the sixth category of the US military by 2020.
The US Vice President, Mike Pence, has described the Space Force, during a speech at the Pentagon, as "an idea whose time has come".
"America will always seek peace in space, just as it does on Earth. But history has shown us that peace comes only through power, and in the realm of outer space, the United States Space Force will be that power in the future," said Pence.
He added that Congress should act immediately by establishing and funding this department. President Trump said in a tweet that "The Space Force is coming."
This Force will be responsible for a range of important US military capabilities, from the satellites that enable the Global Positioning System (GPS), to the sensors that help launch missiles.
However, critics have described the creation of this Force as unnecessary and a costly bureaucratic effort, which overlooks the work that is already being done properly by the Air Force.
