In 2018, then-president Donald Trump instructed the Department of Defense to set up a sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces -- a Space Force separate from the Air Force. Eighteen months later, the U.S. Space Force came into being when half of the U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command's (AFSPC) 35,000 civilian and military employees moved over to form the new service.

That number has since consolidated to about 14,500 total "Guardians" comprising USSF, of which fewer than 10,000 are active-duty military. But the Space Force could get a bit bigger soon. Because as the 2024 campaign season heats up, presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for the creation of something new: A Space National Guard.

Image source: Getty Images.

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Source Fool.com