Is the Outer Space "peace" treaty about to end?

[vger]

Lawmakers within the House Armed Services Committee have introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Air Force to establish a "Space Corps" as a distinct branch of the military by January 1, 2019

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/f6b2eda5-2359-33d0-97c2-e487d5231183/ss_space-corps%3A-lawmakers-lay.html

[HebaruSan]

The Outer Space Treaty is not a peace treaty. It bans WMDs in space and use of celestial bodies for military purposes. Conventional weapons are allowed, as is militarization of vacuum (up to and including orbital bombardment). That leaves a Space Corps plenty of room to operate without violating it.

[Streetwind]

In addition to what HebaruSan said:

Much to the contrary, the Outer Space Treaty seems to be quite popular. So much so in fact that even careful and tentative moves to amend it for more contemporary times (it was signed at the height of the cold war after all) are generally met with vehement refusal (usually without even considering the proposal). A lot of countries want this treaty to simply stay in place as-is.

Not to mention that an incredibly large number of countries have ratified it - including, as surprising as it sounds, North Korea (since 2009). Few treaties ever get as widely adopted as the OST.

 

Edited June 22, 2017 by Streetwind

[kerbiloid]

Will Space Corps have telepathes?

[magnemoe]

2 hours ago, HebaruSan said:

The Outer Space Treaty is not a peace treaty. It bans WMDs in space and use of celestial bodies for military purposes. Conventional weapons are allowed, as is militarization of vacuum (up to and including orbital bombardment). That leaves a Space Corps plenty of room to operate without violating it.

This sounds more like an reorganization than anything else. 
They tried to merge the icbm and space branches once and it did not work well because of very different culture. 

[Scotius]

Will Space Corps have 4 people exploration and combat teams? And operate from under Cheyenne Mountain?

 

[Green Baron]

And look as intelligent and prudent as the four gaw err guys in the picture ?

Edited June 22, 2017 by Green Baron

[Scotius]

Three guys. And a woman, who is probably smarter than three of them put together.

Though i will freely admit they could be a bit... goofy at times. But always in good cause

Edited June 22, 2017 by Scotius

[DDE]

Ahem... kamikaze satellites.

Space cannons.

Megawatt-range laser battlestations.

There hasn't been peace among the stars for a while.

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

until

Spoiler

 

[Green Baron]

Anyone still asking him-/herself why no aliens come visiting us ?

Edited June 22, 2017 by Green Baron

[Kryten]

There's already a USAF space command, this is just taking it one step up the hierarchy. Nothing new.

[Nibb31]

It would probably just be a merge of the USAF Space Wing, the NRO, and Naval Space Command. 

[YNM]

If they can help establish planetary colonies, it's probably a good thing still...

 

 

 

... oh wait, age of discovery... again...

[kerbiloid]

Too late, though. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Aerospace_Forces

[DDE]

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

Too late, though. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Aerospace_Forces

Preceded by, for decades, a significantly more independent Space Troops.

[kerbinorbiter]

7 hours ago, Scotius said:

Will Space Corps have 4 people exploration and combat teams? And operate from under Cheyenne Mountain?

 

if im thinking of the right thing first thing i think of upon hearing Cheyenne is the Plains Indians (on and off the reservation) (by that i mean explain)

Edited June 22, 2017 by kerbinorbiter

[Ignath]

18 minutes ago, kerbinorbiter said:

if im thinking of the right thing first thing i think of upon hearing Cheyenne is the Plains Indians (on and off the reservation) (by that i mean explain)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_Mountain_Complex

From the link:

Quote

 

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a military installation and nuclear bunker located in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station,^[a] which hosts the activities of several tenant units.

Formerly the center for the United States Space Command and NORAD, the Complex monitored the airspace of Canada and the United States through a worldwide system for missiles, space systems, and foreign aircraft through its early-warning system.^[7] Since 2008, NORAD and the United States Space Command have been based at Peterson Air Force Base and the complex, re-designated as an Air Force station, is used for flight crew training and as a backup command center if required.^[8]

 

 

[Scotius]

39 minutes ago, kerbinorbiter said:

if im thinking of the right thing first thing i think of upon hearing Cheyenne is the Plains Indians (on and off the reservation) (by that i mean explain)

Go watch Stargate TV series. And Stargate Atlantis. They are rare breed - sci-fi shows centered on adventure, exploration, friendship and hope that humans can actually do some good given the chance. With very little doom, gloom and grittiness chocking the fun out of other similiar shows *coughBattlestarGalactica2003cough*.

[mikegarrison]

The OST will probably survive just fine until/unless colonization of other solar system bodies actually becomes practical. And then just see how fast it falls apart....

[Bill Phil]

19 hours ago, Scotius said:

Will Space Corps have 4 people exploration and combat teams? And operate from under Cheyenne Mountain?

 

As long as the commander of the team wisecracks all the time and is hiding his intelligence, we have a book smart guy who ascends to a higher plane, an alien with a weird worm parasite thing incubating inside him, and a tech savvy highly skilled woman, we'll be fine. I mean, how many times do you have to save the world to get a promotion? Or blow up stars?

18 hours ago, Kryten said:

There's already a USAF space command, this is just taking it one step up the hierarchy. Nothing new.

Huh. My avatar is the logo of a space wing. Specifically the 21st.

[DDE]

4 hours ago, Bill Phil said:

Huh. My avatar is the logo of a space wing. Specifically the 21st.

And I remember coopting the 27th for a fictitious realization of Project Hot Eagle.

On a totally unrelated note... Falcon 9 first stage can throw a fully loaded Dragon 2 towards Europe and then RTLS. I think the math works out.

 

[Vanamonde]

Guys, please take the joke posts to other parts of the forum. This sub is meant for discussions of actual science.