Nearly 60 years after the United States beat the Soviet Union to put the first human on the moon, the nation finds itself in another space race, this time with China, and it could demand a Space Force presence in orbit, experts suggest.
“With a rapidly emerging China and a new goal of permanent human presence on the moon, the stakes are just as high today as they were during the Cold War,” said Kevin Chilton, explorer chair of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.
A recent policy paper released by the institute, “Military Human Spaceflight: A Key Component to U.S. Space Superiority,” makes the case that it may be time to send guardians to orbit, and beyond.
To date, the Space Force has accomplished its mission with remotely operated satellites, but as the United States increasingly sends its citizens to orbit and the moon, there may come a point when guardians performing military missions in space will be required to secure U.S. interests there, Chilton said while moderating a panel discussion on the paper.
