US Space Force mocked for revealing Star Trek-style logo
25 January 2020, 12:13
The United States Space Force has been widely mocked after unveiling a Star Trek-style logo.
The Pentagon's new military branch is not Star Trek's Starfleet Command, but their logos bear a striking similarity.
President Donald Trump unveiled the Space Force logo on Friday, stating on Twitter that he had consulted with military leaders and designers before presenting the blue-and-white symbol.
It features an arrowhead shape centred on a planetary background and encircled by the words "United States Space Force" and "Department of the Air Force."
US President Donald Trump was flanked by troops in December as he launched the new force.
He said the force would "deter aggression" in what he called "the world's newest war-fighting domain".
"Amid grave threats to our national security, American superiority in space is absolutely vital."We're leading, but we're not leading by enough, but very shortly we'll be leading by a lot," he said.
After consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers, and others, I am pleased to present the new logo for the United States Space Force, the Sixth Branch of our Magnificent Military! pic.twitter.com/TC8pT4yHFT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020
The logo, which bears the date 2019 in Roman numerals, is also similar in design to that of Air Force Space Command, from which the Space Force was created.
The new force defended the logo in a Facebook post: "The delta symbol, the central design element in the seal, was first used as early as 1942 by the U.S. Army Air Forces; and was used in early Air Force space organization emblems dating back to 1961.
"Since then, the delta symbol has been a prominent feature in military space community emblems."
George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu in the original "Star Trek" TV series and films, tweeted: "Ahem. We are expecting some royalties from this."
The force is the first new military service since the Air Force was created in 1947.
The funding for the force was made official by Mr Trump, when he signed the $738bn (£567bn) annual US military budget.
The launch of the Space Force will be funded by an initial $40m in its first year.
It is meant mainly to improve the protection of US satellites and other space assets, rather than to put soldiers into orbit to conduct combat in outer space.
The organisation was similarly mocked online and was quickly forced to defend its new camouflage uniform last week.
In a tweet, the force said it was "utilising current Army/Air Force uniforms" in order to save costs on the design and production of the clothing.
"Members will look like their joint counterparts they’ll be working with, on the ground."