Problems and potential
Despite the attention all this brings to the Space Force, if people are so deeply influenced by fiction that they find the USSF funny or absurd, it could lead to a disconnect between public expectations and what the Space Force is actually doing, and ultimately, reduce public support.
While missions like surveillance and tracking satellites and space debris may not be as interesting as stories from “Star Wars,” they are fundamental to the global economy and national security.
While the Space Force has fed these perceptions to an extent – for example, using the name
Kobayashi Maru from “Star Trek” for one of its software programs – there are ways in which science fiction can be helpful for the new military branch. Science fiction can be inspiring, as it was during the
space race of the 1960s and is for
space leaders today.
Modern pop culture interest in space can also be used to leverage interest in the Space Force. While it is not engaging in any “Star Trek” sort of exploration, its duties are important and inspiring nonetheless. Without the
GPS satellites the Space Force is now in charge of, we wouldn’t be able to get money from an ATM, coordinate financial transactions or monitor such episodes as volcanoes or earthquakes.
The reality portrayed in “Star Trek” is hundreds of years in the future. While the Space Force might be an early step toward that reality; it is merely the first of many. As Gen. Mark Naird in the Netflix comedy series “Space Force” famously intones, “Space is hard.” Though not as glamorous as Hollywood, the hard work defending U.S. national interests in space is important.

This story was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original here.