President Trump wants a Space Force -- a sixth branch of the military -- to tackle space. He says, "It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space." The Pentagon will look into it. Undoubtedly, Trump is concerned China will be the first to militarize space. China is already there in a commercial way, and so is Russia. Space exploration is rapidly becoming the last frontier for billionaire developers who want to make money on space travel, such as Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk. They are transforming space exploration into a capitalistic enterprise.
Astronauts in the time of private space exploration
Credits
Guest:
- Christian Davenport - reporter covering NASA and the space industry for Washington Post - @_chrisdavenport