With the recent passage of this year's big defense bill, Congress authorized the creation of a sixth branch of the armed forces — the United States Space Force. The move reflects the growing militarization of space, as the other branches have grown increasingly reliant on operations there. Despite criticism from spending hawks and late-night comics, the space force is an idea whose time has come. But the public, understandably, has questions: What will it look like? What will its mission be?

It's worth pointing out that the U.S. hasn't created a new branch of the military since the air force in 1947. While not without controversy at the time, that move simply recognized the reality at the time that air operations were going to become increasingly large and complex. This necessitated a cadre of true experts who would "grow up" thinking, planning, procuring equipment and actually conducting pure aviation in that domain — alongside the navy at sea and the army ashore.

That is the essential rationale for the U.S. Space Force — given the complexity and scale of operations in space, that domain requires a dedicated mission focus. Unlike Russia and China, which each have had dedicated space forces, the U.S. has relied largely on its air force to run space operations, with supporting efforts from the army and navy. In many cases, this puts space forces at a disadvantage in a fighter- and bomber-dominated air force.