How it would proceed

The Space Force plan would unfold in phases and require congressional approval. The Pentagon will:

►Recommend to President Trump that he approve creation of a US Space Command by the end of this year. It would be headed by a four-star general. Space Command’s main role would be to prepare for conflict in space and to lead US space forces should such a war begin.

►Create a Space Development Agency to accelerate the development and fielding of technologies required for a Space Force. It would report to a civilian.

► Establish a Space Operations Force, a group of space technology and space warfare experts. This group would be the core of an eventual Space Force, to be created as a separate military service. These experts would be developed over time.

►Submit to Congress, as part of its 2020 budget request, a legislative proposal for creation of a Space Force as a separate military service. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the cost will run into the billions.

SOURCE: Associated Press