President Trump revealed the long-awaited logo for his U.S. Space Force this week. Many Star Trek fans have since noticed that the design is almost identical to the franchise’s logo. The new branch of the U.S. military has been talked about by the Trump administration for the last few years and has drawn similarities to Star Wars and Spaceballs.
Trump revealed the new Space Force logo on social media and 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!” It’s unclear why he capitalized everything.
In addition to looking a lot like the insignia of the Air Force Space Command, which was started before Donald Trump’s Space Force, the logo looks a lot like the Star Trek design and fans are letting the president know on social media. The delta symbol is really what makes it look enough like the sci-fi franchise, so much so that they may be able to sue the United States government. A spokesperson had this to say about the Space Force logo.
“The US 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.”
George Takei, who played Sulu on Star Trek, responded to President Donald Trump and his Space Force tweet by saying, “Ahem. We are expecting some royalties from this…” Trump handpicked the design out of several that were shown to him, according to Major William Russell, a Space Force spokesperson. The new branch of the U.S. military is an offshoot from the Air Force, much like the Marines and the Navy.
General John Raymond, the previous commander of U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command, revealed that the government wasn’t in any rush to get the logos to President Trump. According to Raymond, there’s a lot going on behind-the-scenes that took precedent over the logo. In addition, there’s a lot more that still needs to be done. He explains.
“There are, as you can imagine, thousands and thousands of actions that are going to have to take place, everything from what does the uniform look like, to the logo, all the way up to who’s in the Space Force and who’s not in the Space Force. That work is being planned and will continue to be refined.”
Space Force was officially signed into law on December 20th, 2019 as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. President Trump directed the Pentagon to begin planning for a Space Force to “undertake missions and operations in the rapidly evolving space domain.” The U.S. Space Force is the first new military service in more than 70 years, following the establishment of the U.S. Air Force in 1947. In addition to keeping space safe, the new logo and uniform designs will look a lot like Star Trek. CNN was the first to report the Space Force logo news.
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
Ahem. We are expecting some royalties from this… https://t.co/msYcJMlqjh
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 24, 2020
May I suggest a more politically aligned logo for the Trump Administration to emulate for their new #SpaceForce ?#ImperialWhiteHousepic.twitter.com/66zjCp194C
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 25, 2020
what the fuck is happening you just ripped off the star trek logo are we in a cartoon version of hell
— Sarah Beattie (@nachosarah) January 24, 2020
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 25, 2020
Swell, now taxpayers get to pay for lawyers when you’re sued by Paramount and the Roddenberry estate… pic.twitter.com/hd7RM20BYZ
— Ned Pyle (@NerdPyle) January 24, 2020
lol did you just rip off Star Trek?
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 24, 2020
Either this is a joke or you’re about to be the first president to get sued by Jean Luc Picard
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) January 24, 2020
Are your designers Trekkies? pic.twitter.com/DIOGfP6EsN
— javajnkie (@javajnkie) January 25, 2020
@StarTrek is suing…. pic.twitter.com/2E1QPLa4Ft
— Venture Capital (@kelly2277) January 24, 2020
