The Space Force sounds like an army from a Star Wars movie, but these soldiers won’t be patrolling the skies with laser guns and lightsabers. Instead, they’ll sit in control rooms and observe computer screens. Their job will be to guard one of the most important assets we have: satellites.
When you stare up at the night sky, it may look empty, except for the stars, but it’s actually full of satellites. In fact, more than 1,800 working satellites orbit Earth.
The smallest satellite could fit in the palm of your hand, and the largest—called the International Space Station—is the size of a football field. These machines take pictures and send other information back to Earth.
Every day, you rely on information collected by satellites. When you open Google Maps on your phone to find a friend’s house, you are using the GPS (Global Positioning System). It’s powered by data from dozens of satellites. And when you check to see if your soccer game might be rained out, the weather report is based on information and pictures gathered by satellites.