Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has released a memo that lays out the Defense Department’s plan to establish by 2020 a new “space force†that would serve as the country’s sixth service branch, SpaceNews reported Thursday.
John Rood, defense undersecretary for policy, will work with the Joint Staff, military services’ secretaries and DoD’s legislative office to come up with a legislative proposal for the new space force for submission to the Office of Management and Budget by Dec. 1, according to a copy of the Monday memo obtained by the publication.
Shanahan directed Rood to provide a “space governance committee†with an interim report by Oct. 1 and the Pentagon comptroller to draft a proposed budget for the new service by Oct. 15 for inclusion in the funding request for fiscal 2020.
The report said the memo also covers DoD’s action plans for the establishment of a unified space command, space operations forces and a space development agency.
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