U.S. officially launches Space Command

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday authorizing the Pentagon’s new Space Command, which will better organize U.S. operations in space. Vice President Mike Pence made the announcement at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. He said a four-star general will lead the new command, establishing unified control over all military space efforts. “It will develop the space doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures that will enable our war fighters to defend our nation in this new era,” Pence said. “A new era of American leadership in space has begun.”

The Space Command will seek to speed up technical advances and find more effective ways to defend U.S. assets in space, which include vast constellations of satellites that American forces rely on for navigation, communications, and surveillance. The move comes amid growing concerns that China and Russia are working on ways to disrupt, disable, or even destroy U.S. satellites.