Image Source: TOI

The United States officially launched the Space Force on Friday with President Donald Trump signing into law the 2020 defense budget that will fund the newest and the sixth branch of US military, to counter increasing threats chiefly from Russia and China to American assets in space.

The US Space Force has been assigned a $40 billion budget and will be staffed with 16,000 personnel. It will be charged with protecting America’s navigation and communications satellites from being jammed, blinded and disabled by adversaries, which also include Iran and North Korea.