"I'm hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces," Trump stated at the opening of a White House meeting of the National Space Council. "We have the Air Force and we're going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal."
READ MORE: US Armed Forces Launch Regular Evacuation Drills in South Korea
The announcement opened a new chapter in competition to explore space, with the goal of besting nations such as Russia and China, Trump explained.
"America was first in flight, first to the moon and why America will always be first in space," Trump said. "We don’t want China and Russia and other countries leading us… We’re going to be the leader by far."
The event featured Trump's third Space Policy Directive, which also orders the Defense Department to protect US space assets, in part by managing an increasing crowded low Earth orbit.
"The new directive seeks to reduce the growing threat of orbital debris to the common interest of all nations," the White House explained in a press release.
The directive also seeks to streamline regulatory processes that have inhibited commercial efforts to develop space launch and exploration technology, according to the release.
