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Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720

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Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720

6th Cortes Federales
Long title An Act to establish the Federal Space Force as a service of the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie; to provide for its role in the orbital defense of the Federation, the protection of the Federation's space assets, and the maintenance of space domain awareness; to vest the command of the Federal Space Force in the Council of State through the Secretary of Defense; among other purposes.
Introduced by The Council of State
Extent Entire Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie
Dates
Royal Assent 6.XI.1720 AN
Commencement 1.XII.1720 AN
Other legislation
Amendments None
Related legislation

The Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720 (Alexandrian: Loi sur l'établissement de la Force Spatiale Fédérale, 1720; Martino: Ley de Establecimiento de la Fuerza Espacial Federal, 1720; Wechua: Hanan Pacha Awqa Kamachiq Kamay, 1720) is legislation of Nouvelle Alexandrie that established the Federal Space Force as a service of the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie, charged with the orbital defense of the Federation, the protection of its space assets, and the maintenance of space domain awareness.

The bill was brought by the Council of State of Premier Paolo Antonio Aguilar on 8.II.1720 AN and received Royal Assent from King Sinchi Roca I on 6.XI.1720 AN. It gave a single service the orbital-defense duties that the Federal Forces had carried since the launch of the Nouvelle Alexandrie Orbital Defense Initiative in 1717 AN, and set the statutory footing on which the later expansion of the Federation's space arm was built. The Federal Space Force has remained one of the standing services of the Federal Forces since.

Background

By 1720 AN the Federation had been active in space for a generation. The civilian Aeronautics and Space Administration of Nouvelle Alexandrie (ASANA) had operated since 1694 AN, and its crewed Aurora Station gave the Federation a record in orbital engineering and long-duration spaceflight. The Federal Forces had built orbital assets of their own: the orbital-detection radars of Project Space Armor, operational since 1701 AN; the Nouvelle Alexandrie Satellite Surveillance System, a surveillance constellation deployed from 1709 AN; and, from 1717 AN, the Nouvelle Alexandrie Orbital Defense Initiative (NAODI), a program to develop anti-satellite weapons, electronic jammers, directed-energy systems, and the means to move or disable a rival's orbiting platforms. These were run across the existing commands, with no service of their own.

The Federation's alliances pressed the question. As a member of the Raspur Pact, whose founding treaty committed the signatories to raise, under Natopian guidance, an orbital defense force for the security of Micras and the wider Atos System, Nouvelle Alexandrie had become a major contributor to the allied Planetary Defence Network while controlling a growing constellation of its own orbital assets. A standing service to hold these duties together had come to seem unavoidable.

The threat was no longer abstract. In 1720 AN the Natopian Spacefleet carried out kinetic orbital strikes during fighting in Corum, a demonstration that orbital bombardment had become a working instrument of war among the powers of Micras. The government of Premier Paolo Antonio Aguilar, then set on a broad modernization of the Federal Forces, judged that an orbital effort run out of several commands was no longer equal to the threat or to the Federation's growing inventory of satellites and orbital assets.

The Defense of the Federation Act, 1694, the founding statute of the Federal Forces, had fixed the services of the Federation without provision for a space arm. Rather than reopen that Act, the Aguilar government brought a dedicated measure to stand up the Federal Space Force as a service in its own right, with a settled command, a defined mission, and the orbital assets the Federal Forces already held.

Key provisions

The Act establishes the Federal Space Force as a service of the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie, standing alongside the land, sea, and air services of the Federation. It charges the new service with the orbital defense of the Federation, the protection of the Federation's satellites and other space assets, the surveillance of the orbital environment, and the conduct of such operations in space as the defense of the Federation may require.

Command of the Federal Space Force is placed within the structure of the Federal Forces. The professional head of the service is a Chief of Staff, styled the Captain General of the Federal Space Force, who answers to the Secretary of Defense and the Council of State on the same footing as the heads of the other services. The Act provides for the service to take over the orbital assets the Federal Forces already operated, among them the Nouvelle Alexandrie Satellite Surveillance System and the systems maturing under the Nouvelle Alexandrie Orbital Defense Initiative, and directs it to work with the civilian space administration and with the Federation's allies, the Raspur Pact foremost, in matters of orbital defense and space domain awareness.

The remaining provisions govern the personnel, recruitment, and funding of the service, its place in the joint command of the Federal Forces, and the protection of classified information relating to the Federation's space and orbital-defense programs. The Act takes nothing from the civil functions of the Aeronautics and Space Administration of Nouvelle Alexandrie, whose programs of exploration and research remain under civilian authority.

Legislative history

Legislative history of the Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720
Stage Date Chamber Action Votes (Y-N-A) Details
1 8.II.1720 AN Federal Assembly Introduction - Brought by the Council of State
2 5.IV.1720 AN Federal Assembly Committee Review 7-4-2 Reported by the Committee on Defense and National Security
3 20.V.1720 AN Federal Assembly First Reading - Debate opened
4 14.VII.1720 AN Federal Assembly Final Reading 462-129-70 Passed
5 2.IX.1720 AN Chamber of Peers First Reading - Debate opened
6 19.X.1720 AN Chamber of Peers Final Reading 148-15-26 Passed
7 6.XI.1720 AN - Royal Assent - Signed into law by King Sinchi Roca I

The bill divided the Cortes along the lines that had marked the defense debates of the day. The governing Federal Humanist Party carried it as a measure of its modernization program, while the Federal Consensus Party, which had set itself against the Aguilar government's foreign deployments, opposed the creation of a standing space service and the spending it implied. The measure passed the Federal Assembly on the government's majority with cross-bench support, and was received more warmly in the Chamber of Peers.

Bill as submitted to the "Hopper" of the Federal Assembly, 1720 AN

Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720

THE READING OF
A
BILL
TO
Establish the Federal Space Force as a service of the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie; to provide for its role in the orbital defense of the Federation, the protection of the Federation's space assets, and the maintenance of space domain awareness; to vest the command of the Federal Space Force in the Council of State through the Secretary of Defense; among other purposes.

Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720

Presented by the Council of State
Ordered, by the Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie,
to be Printed, 8.II.1720 AN.

BE IT ENACTED by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Cortes Federales, in this present session assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-


PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: Citation.

  1. This Act may be cited as the "Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720".

Article 2: Definitions.

  1. For the purposes of this Act:
    1. "the Federal Forces" means the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie;
    2. "the Space Force" means the Federal Space Force established by this Act;
    3. "the Council of State" means the Council of State of Nouvelle Alexandrie;
    4. "the Secretary of Defense" means the member of the Council of State charged with the defense of the Federation;
    5. "space asset" means any satellite, station, platform, vehicle, or installation, in orbit or beyond, that is owned, operated, or relied upon by the Federation;
    6. "space domain awareness" means the detection, tracking, identification, and assessment of objects and activity in orbit and beyond that bear upon the security of the Federation.

PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL SPACE FORCE

Article 3: Establishment.

  1. There is hereby established a service of the Federal Forces, to be known as the Federal Space Force.
  2. The Federal Space Force is a standing service of the Federal Forces, holding the same standing in law as the land, sea, and air services of the Federation.

Article 4: Mission.

  1. The mission of the Federal Space Force is to secure the interests of the Federation in space and to defend the Federation against threats arising in or from space.
  2. In furtherance of that mission, the Federal Space Force shall:
    1. conduct the orbital defense of the Federation, including the defense of the Federation's space assets against attack, interference, and disablement;
    2. maintain space domain awareness and provide early warning of threats arising in or from space;
    3. operate, protect, and where necessary deny the use of orbital systems as the defense of the Federation may require;
    4. support the other services of the Federal Forces in their operations by means of the capabilities of the Space Force.

Article 5: Relation to the civil space administration.

  1. Nothing in this Act diminishes the functions of the Aeronautics and Space Administration of Nouvelle Alexandrie or of any other civil authority, whose programs of exploration, research, and the peaceful use of space remain under civil authority.
  2. The Federal Space Force shall keep with the civil space administration such arrangements for the sharing of information and for the safety of operations in orbit as the Council of State shall direct.

PART III
COMMAND AND ORGANIZATION

Article 6: Command.

  1. The Federal Space Force is subject to the command of the Federal Forces as provided by the Defense of the Federation Act, 1694 and the laws for the time being in force.
  2. The professional head of the Federal Space Force is the Chief of Staff of the Federal Space Force, who shall hold the style of Captain General of the Federal Space Force.
  3. The Chief of Staff answers to the Secretary of Defense and to the Council of State, and sits among the heads of the services in the joint command of the Federal Forces.

Article 7: Organization.

  1. The Federal Space Force shall be organized into such commands, formations, and establishments as the Secretary of Defense, on the advice of the Chief of Staff, shall from time to time direct.
  2. There shall be a headquarters of the Federal Space Force, and a command charged with the orbital defense of the Federation.

PART IV
ASSETS AND COOPERATION

Article 8: Orbital-defense assets.

  1. The orbital assets of the Federation then operated by the Federal Forces, including the Nouvelle Alexandrie Satellite Surveillance System, shall be placed under the Federal Space Force on such terms and at such time as the Secretary of Defense shall direct.
  2. The systems developed under the Nouvelle Alexandrie Orbital Defense Initiative shall pass to the Federal Space Force for operation as they are brought into service.
  3. The Federal Space Force shall be responsible for the operation, maintenance, and security of the orbital-defense assets of the Federation.

Article 9: Cooperation with allies.

  1. The Federal Space Force may, as the Council of State shall direct and in keeping with the treaty obligations of the Federation, cooperate with the space and orbital-defense forces of the Federation's allies in matters of orbital defense, space domain awareness, and the security of space.

PART V
PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION

Article 10: Personnel.

  1. The Federal Space Force shall consist of such officers and other ranks as may be enlisted, commissioned, or transferred to it under the laws governing the Federal Forces.
  2. The ranks, conditions of service, and discipline of the Federal Space Force shall be those of the Federal Forces, with such modifications as the nature of the service may require.

Article 11: Funding.

  1. The Federal Space Force shall be funded out of moneys appropriated by the Cortes Federales for the defense of the Federation.

Article 12: Security of information.

  1. Information relating to the capabilities, operations, and assets of the Federal Space Force, and to the orbital-defense programs of the Federation, may be classified and protected as the Council of State shall direct, subject to the oversight provided by law.
PART VI
CLOSING PROVISIONS

Article 13: Commencement and application.

  1. This Act shall apply to all of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie.
  2. This Act shall not become law unless it has been given Royal Assent by H.M. King Sinchi Roca I.
  3. This Act shall be published in the Federal Gazette and made publicly available within seven (7) days of Royal Assent.
  4. This Act shall come into force on 1.XII.1720 AN.
  5. In the event any provision or part of this Act is found to be invalid or unenforceable, only that particular provision or part so found, and not the entire Act, shall be inoperative.

Amendments

No amendments to date.

Voting record

The Federal Space Force Establishment Act passed on the strength of the government's majority rather than as a measure of consensus. The governing Federal Humanist Party backed it almost without exception as a part of its defense program, while the Federal Consensus Party, the chief party of opposition, set itself against a new standing service and the spending and the further militarization of space that it implied. The bill passed the Federal Assembly with a little under seven votes in ten, and carried the Chamber of Peers by a wider margin.

Federal Assembly final reading (14.VII.1720)

Notable votes on the Federal Space Force Establishment Act, 1720
Deputy Region Party Vote Signature Role/Notes
Paolo Antonio Aguilar Santander Santander FHP Yes Aguilar President of the Government; leader of the FHP
Alfons Dandela Santander Santander FCP No Dandela Leader of the Opposition
Julio Delgado Alduria Alduria SDLA Yes Delgado Leader, SDLA
Adriana Lopez-Gautier Valencia Valencia PLC No Lopez-Gautier Leader, PLC
Marisa Demeo Alduria Alduria Independent Steady Demeo Speaker of the Federal Assembly (abstains by convention)

Vote summary by party

Federal Assembly final reading, 14.VII.1720 AN
Political party Yes No Abstain Total % Support
Federal Humanist Party (FHP) 350 0 4 354 98.9%
Federal Consensus Party (FCP) 88 120 60 268 32.8%
Social Democratic and Liberal Alliance (SDLA) 20 6 5 31 64.5%
People's Liberty Congress (PLC) 0 2 0 2 0.0%
Independent 4 1 1 6 66.7%
Total 462 129 70 661 69.9%

Chamber of Peers final reading (19.X.1720)

Chamber of Peers final reading, 19.X.1720 AN
Voting bloc Yes No Abstain % Support
Hereditary Peers 92 10 18 76.7%
Life Peers (Government appointees) 40 2 3 88.9%
Distinguished Citizens 16 3 5 66.7%
Total 148 15 26 78.3%

Analysis

The vote followed the defense divide of the 6th Cortes Federales. The Federal Humanist Party voted for its own government's bill as a bloc, and drew the bulk of the Social Democratic and Liberal Alliance with it on the argument that an orbital-defense service was a prudent answer to a real and growing threat. The Federal Consensus Party carried its opposition to the government's foreign deployments into the space question, dividing between outright opposition and abstention; its members objected that a standing space service would draw the Federation into an arms race in orbit, the same objection that other nations had raised against the Nouvelle Alexandrie Orbital Defense Initiative. The lone votes of the People's Liberty Congress rested on the cost. The Chamber of Peers took the bill as a measure for the security of the realm and passed it by a comfortable margin, the abstentions among the hereditary bench coming chiefly from peers uneasy at the speed of the Federation's military expansion.

See also

References

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