U.S. Space Force is looking for more recruits to tackle some of the military challenges spaceflight will present.
YouTube has released a new video about recruitment that notes "space is difficult" and highlights growing challenges such as foreign actors moving into cislunar orbit and increasing presence of international satellite companies in near-Earth orbit.
"It's the right time for another great leap," the video shows. It cites a line that Neil Armstrong, a civilian NASA astronaut, said after he stepped on the moon's surface in 1969.
The video continues: "The United States Space Force" is being built by the brightest minds from across the space operations of our joint services, the Air Force and the private sector. We are not just preparing for the near future, we are also preparing for the 22nd Century.
The U.S. military's space-focused branch is the latest one. It now targets cislunar and other space areas as a potential target. This follows civilian activity in the region, particularly NASA's Artemis program, which aims to place people on the Moon by 2024.
Related: Is Earth moon space the new US military high ground?
In a speech Tuesday, August 24, at the 36th Space Symposium Colorado Springs, Secretary Frank Kendall of the Air Force stated that threats to space are increasing in sophistication and number.
He stated that China had been aggressive in its efforts to weaponize space. This was something that Obama recognized and that resulted in a shift in US military strategy many years ago. Russia, a partner in the International Space Station, was also mentioned as a possible threat.
He said that both conventional deterrence as well as conventional operations are dependent on having access to space-based services for communications, intelligence and other services. "Our strategic rivals have pursued and deployed a variety of weapons systems in space to defeat or destroy America's space-based military weapon systems and our ability project power.
Space Force is monitoring threats such as jammers, laser systems which could damage satellites from ground, robotic arms that could be used to grab satellites from orbits and ground-based missiles.
Kendall stated that Space Force is faced with so many applicants for the position that it can be difficult to select the best applicants and handpick only the most qualified. For example, there were 4,000 applicants for the 650 spots that were made available to active-duty personnel from other branches when they became available.
He said that people are excited about the Space Force and want to be part of it.
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