On June 18, 2018, President Trump called for the creation of a Space Force, the sixth branch of the military. The Space Force, as its name implies, will protect Americans from space-based threats. Is the announcement of the Space Force a subtle confirmation that there may be extraterrestrial life that poses a to threat to earth-based life? Conversely, many believe that the creation of the Space Force is an extension of billionaire battle between President Trump and the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos.
Though Elon Musk gets all the headlines about space because of his daring quest to colonize Mars, Bezos has quietly built a space tourism business, Blue Origin. Space is the next Wild West and if corporations have their way, they will set the rules for commerce like they did during the early days of the internet, i.e., no taxes on the internet sales. A Space Force, like the other branches of the military, would extend America’s sovereignty (and the reach of the IRS) into space. President Trump may have a special motivation to make sure Bezos does not get a free ride in space. On May 18, 2018, the Washington Post (Jeff Bezos owned newspaper) broke the story that President Trump has instructed the Post Master General to raise rates on Amazon and other ecommerce businesses in an apparent political retaliatory reaction.
In episode 4 of the Mark Peterson Show, I will explore the tangled web of the Space Force.