The Observer view on Donald Trump ’s plans to militarise space | Observer editorial

Countries must join forces and sign a peace treaty or space will become a war-fighting domainThe thought of Donald Trump as space commander-in-chief, whizzing around the Milky Way, zapping alien invaders and conquering new worlds, is both comical and terrifying. Before they began exchanging love letters, the US president ridiculed his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, as “little rocket man”. With his relaunch last week ofUS space command (SpaceCom), terrestrial Trump has appropriated the title for himself.While this may be a big step for the man in the White House, it ’s a giant leap backwards for mankind. Fresh from his bungled attempt to expand America’s frontiers by buying Greenland, Trump is now suggesting the US has a right to colonise outer space, treating it as a free-fire zone for unlimited superpower competition in “the next war-fighting domain”. Trump has watched too many repeats ofIndependence Day. The universe does not belong to America.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: US military Space Donald Trump Science UK news World news Source Type: news