Space cooperation, not new 'star wars'

US President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon recently to create a special "Space Force" as an independent branch of the US military, which has raised fears that an arms race in outer space is imminent.

The US has ambitious outer space programs, and Trump has said the United States does not want just a presence in outer space, it wants dominance. Saying that the "Space Force" will ensure the safety of US spacecraft and astronauts, Trump has emphasized that the US military should strengthen its combat capability in outer space, a battlefield as important as the sea, land and air. That the "Space Force" will be "separate but equal" to the US Air Force may be good news for US employment.

But with the world's only superpower striving to reclaim its leadership in space, the arms race among major powers is likely to extend to outer space.