The United States’ new Space Force has named one of its new primary field commands ‘SpOC’ in apparent nod to Star Trek’s pointy-eared science officer.
Short for ‘Space Operations Command’, SpOC will join ‘Space Systems Command’ and ‘Space Training and Readiness Command’ the force revealed in a statement.
Although the new armed forces branch made no explicit reference to SpOC’s namesake, this is not the first time Space Force has borrowed from Star Trek.
In the long-running sci-fi franchise, the unflappable Spock is half-Vulcan, half-human character played by Leonard Nimoy, as well as Zachary Quinto and Ethan Peck.
The United States’ new Space Force has named one of its new primary field commands ‘SpOC’ in apparent nod to Star Trek’s pointy-eared science officer. Pictured: Leonard Nimoy’s Mr Spock (centre), along with Nichelle Nichols’ Lt Uhura (left) and William Shatner’s Captain Kirk (right) on the bridge of the USS Enterprise
‘SpOC will be the primary force provider of space forces and capabilities for combatant commanders, coalition partners, the joint force and the nation,’ a Space Force spokesperson revealed in a statement.
The command unit, they added, will be headquartered at the Peterson Air Force Base, which is located in Colorado Springs.
The three new primary field commands will be responsible for training space professionals, acquiring space systems from industry developers and supporting combatant commanders.
Underneath the field commands there will be two tiers — deltas and squadrons.
Space Force was founded as the country’s sixth military branch — following the army, air force, navy, marines and coast guard — by US President Donald Trump, who has described space as being ‘the world’s newest war-fighting domain.’
‘This is the most significant restructuring of space units undertaken by the United States since the establishment of Air Force Space Command in 1982,’ Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said in a statement.
‘Innovation and efficiency are driving our mission as we position the Space Force to respond with agility to protect our nation’s space capabilities and the American way of life.’
‘Space Training and Readiness Command — or ‘STARCOM’ — is anticipated will be active by next year, and will be overseen by a two-star general.
In the interim, a field-grade officer will oversee a provisional ‘Space Training and Readiness Delta, which will be established at Peterson Air Force Base next month.
‘This unit will serve as the parent organisation for a number of education, training, and operational test and evaluation units transferring to the Space Force in summer 2020,’ officials explained.
Meanwhile, SpOC and Space Systems Command — which will be responsible for overseeing space system acquisition, launches and developing ‘space capabilities for war-fighters’ — are expected will be led by three-star generals.
At present, Space Force is being operated with the aid of 16,000 airmen temporarily detailed to the service from what was formerly known as Air Force Space Command.
Before the year is out, 6,000 of these personnel are expected to be offered the opportunity to transfer into the Space Force on a permanent basis.
‘This is an historic opportunity to launch the Space Force on the right trajectory to deliver the capabilities needed to ensure freedom of movement and deter aggression in, from and to space,’ said Space Force’s General Jay Raymond.
‘How we organise the Space Force will have lasting impact on our ability to respond with speed and agility to emerging threats in support of the National Defense Strategy and Space Strategy.’
The familiar naming of the SpOC unit will not be the first time that Space Force has appeared to have taken inspiration from ‘Star Trek’. When its logo (left) was first unveiled by President Trump back in January, the design was widely compared to the insignia of ‘Star Fleet’ (right) — the fictional peacekeeping and exploration force of Star Trek’s ‘United Federation of Planets’
The familiar naming of the SpOC unit will not be the first time that Space Force has appeared to have taken inspiration from ‘Star Trek’.
When its logo was first unveiled by President Trump back in January, the design was widely compared to the insignia of ‘Star Fleet’ — the fictional peacekeeping and exploration force of Star Trek’s ‘United Federation of Planets’.
The insignia first appeared on televisions screen in 1966, featuring on the uniforms of Spock, Captain Kirk and the rest of the USS Enterprise’s crew.
Star Trek has had a long history of foreshadowing real-world innovations — all the way from tablet computers to needle-free medicine injectors and real-time language translators.