Vice President Mike Pence will meet with officials at the Pentagon to talk about President Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force, a source confirmed to The Hill. Pence, who chairs the President’s space council, will stop by the Pentagon around the same time the Department of Defense is expected to release a report on its space-related operations to Congress.
According to Defense Secretary James Mattis, the department is still “working our way through” the details of establishing the Space Force, adding that together with Pence and Trump, they are in “complete agreement over the matter.”
Last month Trump officially directed the Pentagon to “immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.”
At the Pentagon, Pence is expected to address the next steps in the formation of the U.S. military in space. His speech will coincide with the release of the Department of Defense’s organization and management structure of space components for the department, CNN informs.
The report on space and the U.S. military was delayed and not unveiled on August 1 as originally anticipated. A defense official previously told CNN the report’s delay was due to minor tweaks and revisions that were still ongoing.
The Pentagon has been working on a study on different paths to establish the Space Force, and there are still many disagreements and details to be worked out, Space News adds.
“But all that says is that we have a threat in space. We’re working all those issues. We have huge challenges in space,” said Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command. According to Hyten, the reorganization that will occur in the coming years is a necessary response to deal with Washington’s “two big adversaries Russia and China.”
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