The space force today consists of about 8500 guardians in uniform and about 5,000 more civilians. We also rely heavily on the United States Air Force for a lot of things that we need that we don't do ourselves. About 5,000 airmen who are out there helping us operate our installations.
The US Space Force, established in 2019, is the first new branch of the military to be created since 1947, and its mission is vast: defend US interests in space. But what exactly is the Space Force? And what does defending US interests in space mean or look like practically?
As the nearly $900 billion defense spending bill winds its way through Congress, Wes went to the Pentagon to sit down with General David Thompson, the Vice Chief of Space Operations to learn what US interests in space are, and how the branch is developing. Bloomberg cybersecurity reporter Katrina Manson joins later to describe her visit to Space Command in Colorado and the importance of the US keeping a watch on its adversaries in zero gravity.
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