Why a war in space may come sooner than you think

The battle to justify the need for a Space Corps rages on in Washington, but the war may soon be upon us, according to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein. The waiting list to sign up as a Space Shuttle door gunner, sadly, isn't yet available, as the actual battle will be satellite defense primarily.

Space isn't just a vast nothingness outside of our planet. The placement of satellites in orbit has played a key, strategic role in combat. Historically, satellites in orbit were fairly hard to reach, so the need to defend them hasn't been a concern. That was until an increasing number of nations gained the ability to knock them out.

The Air Force has kept their eyes on fighting in Space since before 1963. Following the Air Force's lead, the Department of Defense has made many advancements to America's space program, such as the Space and Missile Systems Center and free access to GPS satellites. In 2007, China took steps toward being able to shoot down satellites and, in 2008, America proved it could. Recently, Russia claimed to have a plane-mounted laser that can take out satellites.

Gen. Goldfein told the press we need "to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today." To do this, the United States needs missile-detection satellites in place to watch over our orbiting assets.

Of huge benefit to the USAF's Space Program is the advancement of civilian space programs, such as SpaceX, and their ongoing innovations, such as the reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle, Falcon Heavy. The USAF and SpaceX have worked hand-in-hand on all things space. SpaceX helps research and foot part of the bill while the USAF helps by providing equipment and certifications. Combined, they're about to launch the Deep Space Atomic Clock. While this might not sound as impressive as an all-out war in space, it will help give an absolute measurement of time in Space — which, because of time dilation, is a pain in the ass to keep accurate.

Needless to say, the final frontier is going to get much more interesting in the next few years.