“America is going to lead it and we’re going to need guardians there on the high ground looking out for us.”
Space Soldiers
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for NASA administrator billionaire SpaceX tourist Jared Isaacman wants to send soldiers into space.
During the Space Force Association’s Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando, Florida, Isaacman argued that troops in space are “absolutely inevitable.”
“If Americans are in low Earth orbit, there’s going to need to be people watching out for them,” he said, as quoted by the Independent.
“This is the trajectory that humankind is going to follow,” he added. “America is going to lead it and we’re going to need guardians there on the high ground looking out for us.”
Star Wars Kid
Isaacman’s comments are eyebrow-raising for a number of reasons. Do US astronauts really need armed bodyguards in space? What exactly will these space troops do once they reach space? Will these troops be Space Force “Guardians” — who aren’t trained to be astronauts — or will the Pentagon send troops from a different military branch?
Besides, where will they stay? With the retirement of the International Space Station in 2030, the Pentagon will also have a hard time coming by accommodations for armed forces in orbit.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Isaacman had few details to share regarding his plans to send troops into space, let alone how much such an initiative would cost. He did hint at the possibility of sending soldiers into space around the time NASA hopes to settle on the surface of the Moon, according to the Independent.
Isaacman also said he’s hoping to turn outer space into an economic opportunity.
“Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy,” he told audiences during the conference. “There will inevitably be a thriving space economy — one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space.”
The tech entrepreneur has been to space twice over the last three years, both times on board SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
But given his new desk job in Washington, DC, Isaacman may have to give up on future opportunities to visit space as part of the Polaris program he organized.
“The future of the Polaris program is a little bit of a question mark at the moment,” Isaacman admitted at the event, as quoted by Reuters. “It may wind up on hold for a little bit.”
More on Isaacman: The New Head of NASA Had an Interesting Disagreement with the Space Agency
