Washington June 19 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has ordered the creation of a "Space Force" saying it would be "separate but equal" from the Air Force the media reported.
"We must have American dominance in space. Very importantly I m hereby directing the Department of Defence and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish the Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That s a big step " he said in the White House during a meeting of his National Space Council on Monday.
"We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force: separate but equal it is going to be something so important " CNN quoted the President as saying.
In addition to calling for the Space Force Trump signed Space Policy Directive -- 3 on Monday part of his administration s push to lead in the space space.
Space Policy Directive -- 3 is primarily focused on satellite traffic management and mitigating debris in space. The policy executive secretary of the National Space Council Scott Pace told reporters "seeks to address the challenges of a congested space environment".
"If we re going to expand the economy in space we need to make sure it s done in a sustainable way " Pace said.
Trump previously floated the idea of adding a "Space Force" branch to the US military -- a concept that has received some support on Capitol Hill but drawn scepticism from the Pentagon CNN reported.

--IANS ksk