Star Wars 2.0: The Trumpire Strikes Back

[DeputyJones]

So... uh... this is apparently a thing now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_Force

...yay?

[Niteflier]

Ho-kay. With what very, very little info we have so far, I can only say that if the proposed Space Corps goes through this time, its gong to take years, if not a decade, to become reality. History shows that it was a pain and a half to split the USAF from the US Army. While the current USAF Space Command may be a tiny part of the overall USAF (and the total US military) the reorg would be hell. Not just in spining up a new branch, but also all the support structures of said branch. Basic training, technical training schools, physical locations, command structure at currently shared locations, heck, just what the rank structure is going to be! (Holdover the USAF/USArmy ranks? Switch to the 'traditional' Navy ranks of scifi?) And this is all assuming that this goes past congress without being modified to Mars and back.

[DHBirr]

And it hasn't occurred to anyone in this or a previous administration to simply rename the Air Force "Aerospace Force"?  < weary sigh >

[robkelk]

That wouldn't keep NASA so busy with space that they wouldn't have time to look at Earth and gather evidence about climate change.

(As if Earth isn't part of space...)

[classicdrogn]

I'm more concerned about keeping NASA so busy they don't have time to look at Earth and predict hurricanes and lightning storms, at least on the personal level. I'd have hoped even the climate change deniers would see the ability to get storm warnings and such out so people have time to batten down before it's on top of them and get resources like emergency services and power line repair crews ready to move as important, but apparently not when the same instruments and data are what keeps adding to the massive piles of evidence against their pet delusions.

Worse, in the longer term, this is almost certainly going to poison the well for space exploration in public perception for decades to come. And for that matter, aren't there treaties in place about not militarizing orbit/outer space? Just when I thought I couldn't hate that blithering numpty any more...

[hazard]

Yes there are treaties about that.

You expect Trump to heed treaties?

[robkelk]

The Outer Space Treaty was signed by the USA on January 27, 1967, with copies of the ratification deposited in DC, London, and Moscow on October 10, 1967. (Same dates for Canada, if it matters.)

So, yeah.

[Norgarth]

Yes there are treaties about that.

You expect Trump to heed treaties?

Trump:

[classicdrogn]

You expect Trump to heed treaties?

I expect Trump to change his tune every time he talks to a different audience, so no. Even less than if he made the deal himself, because then there's at least a whisper of the idea that it's his own words he's going back on. Probably. Maybe. Shit, maybe he didn't even bother to check or think through how putting space exploration under a branch of the military instead of a civilian agency that uses pilots loaned from the military might violate it.

[hazard]

Going by Trump's business history the man's a liar. He'll promise you mountains of gold and give you nothing of value.

He'll go back on his word the moment he believes it might be more palatable than anything else he's said. If there's one thing he can be relied upon for it's that. And it doesn't help that he seems unable to maintain a position.

[Norgarth]

EDIT: