Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET President Trump Monday announced his intention to create a "space force" that would oversee the military's activities off-world. "When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space," Trump said at a meeting of the National Space Council, which oversees the nation's space policy. "We must have American dominance in space. So important." "I'm hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That's a big statement," the president continued. Experts were quick to point out that President Trump cannot actually create a space force. A new branch of the military can only be established by an act of Congress — something that hasn't happened since the Air Force was split from the Army in 1947. "Last year the House passed a bill that would have created a space corps," says Todd Harrison, director of the
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