Trump unveils Space Force logo

President Trump on Friday unveiled the logo for Space Force, the newly established sixth branch of the Armed Forces.

“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!” Trump tweeted Friday afternoon, attaching a picture of the logo.

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 is similar to the one that was used by Air Force Space Command, which was the predecessor to Space Force.

Space Force was established in December with the signing of the annual defense policy bill.

Its establishment fulfilled a top priority for Trump since he first floated the idea in 2018 and turned it into a reliable applause line at his campaign rallies.

Though Trump coined the name Space Force, the idea for a separate branch of the military for space originated as a bipartisan House idea in 2017.

Space Force’s goal is to protect U.S. military assets in space from threats from Russia and China, which have tested anti-satellite weapons and created their own space military services.

Since the idea for Space Force was first pitched, there has been much speculation and interest in some of the lighter, cultural aspects of the service, including what its uniform, logo and official song will be.

Last week, Space Force’s Twitter account unveiled the nameplate that will appear on the service’s utility uniforms.

The picture of the nameplate on a camouflage uniform provoked online snickering, with Twitter users joking the brown and green won’t blend into space; however, despite the service’s name, Space Force members will be earthbound.

Space Force “is utilizing current Army/Air Force uniforms, saving costs of designing/producing a new one,” the service tweeted in response to criticism of the camouflage. “Members will look like their joint counterparts they’ll be working with, on the ground.”

After Trump tweeted the new logo, some Twitter users — including Star Trek actor George Takei — highlighted and joked about the similarity to the logo for Starfleet, the fictional space exploration and defense organization from Star Trek.

Ahem. We are expecting some royalties from this… https://t.co/msYcJMlqjh

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 24, 2020

pic.twitter.com/tOQWhLxrUy

— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) January 24, 2020

It’s the Star Fleet logo from Star Trek. https://t.co/IAL62LmOZO https://t.co/fOuGJ5pfSd

— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) January 24, 2020

Trump just announced the new logo for the Space Force. The other is Star Trek Starfleet Command. pic.twitter.com/S7NeYdjR4C

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 24, 2020

A U.S. Space Force spokesperson said in a statement Friday that the newly unveiled seal “pays tribute to the newest Armed Service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force.”

“The U.S. Space Force seal honors the Department of the Air Force’s proud history and long-standing record of providing the best space capabilities in the world. 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,” the statement added.

Updated: 6:35 p.m.