Donald Trump Reveals The Official Space Force Flag
During a ceremony in the Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump unfurled the official flag for the Space Force, the newest branch of the United States military, NPR reported. The dark blue flag with white accents features the branch’s official seal, which Trump approved in January.
Space Force leadership presented the flag of the Space Force to @POTUS today in the Oval Office. The flag will hang alongside those of the other military services @WhiteHouse. @SecAFOfficial
@SpaceForceCSO https://t.co/Ed4jMdCY5b pic.twitter.com/Ct3O5c1Yg6— United States Space Force (@SpaceForceDoD) May 15, 2020
The seal features a blue globe with lines of latitude and longitude, surrounded by an elliptical. Along the edge of the elliptical, there are three large star clusters. Overlayed on the image of the globe is a shape that looks like three triangles merged together — a shape that sparked some controversy when it was first revealed as Star Trek fans thought it looked very much like the series’ iconic logo.
The White House said that the dark-blue-and-white color scheme of the flag represents the “vast recesses of outer space,” according to NPR. The three large star clusters on the elliptical stand for the three purposes of the Space Force, “organizing, training and equipping” members to protect America’s infrastructure and assets in space.
According to The Hill, the Space Force flag is the first new military flag in 72 years.
During the ceremony, Trump stressed how important the Space Force will be to America’s future, The Hill reported.
“Space is going to be the future, both in terms of defense and offense and so many other things,” the president said. “And already, from what I’m hearing and based on reports, we’re now the leader in space.”
Trump was joined by military leaders and the Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, who echoed the president’s sentiments about the importance of the Space Force, NPR reported.
“With the establishment of Space Force and establishment of Space Command, the United States is now doing what it needs to do to protect our assets in space and ensure that space remains the heavens by which we not only protect America, but we sustain our economy, we sustain our commercial capabilities, we sustain Americans’ way of life.”
Trump also took the opportunity to praise the Space Force for the work it has done so far. He hinted at the creation of what he called a “super-duper missile” that he claims can travel exponentially faster than any other missile in the world, per NPR. The outlet noted that it was unclear which missiles the president was referring to, but suggested that several countries are working to develop hypersonic weapons.
The idea for the Space Force originated as a bipartisan proposal in the House of Representatives in 2017, according to The Hill. Trump came up with the name in 2018. He officially created the new branch of the military in December 2019 when he signed the annual defense policy bill.
