Side Note
The Akash SAM Missile (which is not hypersonic, but you get the idea).

The Akash SAM Missile (which is not hypersonic, but you get the idea).

Is this Trump’s “Space Force?”

When Trump announced his plans to create a “Space Force” this past March, no one really knew what he meant. To a large degree, we still don’t. But it’s possible that a U.S. military presence in space would entail sending up a swarm of satellites that can detect hypersonic (moving five times the speed of sound) missiles that are launched on the Earth’s surface, according to reporting by Space News.

The idea of sending up satellites to detect missiles is decades old, but hypersonic missiles are a hypothetical, as-yet-nonexistent threat from countries like Russia and China, and not a realistic-enough one for it to ever get funding. However, the Pentagon is now reportedly seeking money to make this idea a reality.

The Missile Defense Agency or the U.S. Air Force would be in charge of this initiative (since the Space Force still doesn't exist), if it comes to fruition. But since this administration is prioritizing public-private partnerships with satellite-building companies, it’s possible that a military contractor such as Boeing or Lockheed Martin would be the ones actually making and sending up the satellites.

It’s important to note that detecting missiles from space is not the same thing as having the ability to take them out. Although the U.S. can build these weapons for regular missiles, the techology wouldn't necesarily work on a missle travelling faster than the speed of sound.