5.11.2020

In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force, Capt. Ryan Vickers stands for a photo to display his new service tapes after taking his oath of office to transfer from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Space Force at Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Space Force, the first new U.S. military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947, now has some 20 members stationed at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment. (Staff Sgt. Kayla White/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Air Force Col. Michael “Hopper” Hopkins will be in an appropriate location later this month when he transfers over to the recently created U.S. Space Force.

He’ll be in space.

A veteran NASA astronaut who has already logged more than 166 days in space, Col. Hopkins will switch his name tag from “Air Force” to “Space Force” once he is aboard the International Space Station, officials with U.S. Space Force confirmed.

While about 2,500 active-duty service members are now part of the U.S. Space Force — including Gen. John Raymond, chief of Space Operations — Col. Hopkins will be the first actual astronaut to join the ranks.

“Gen. Raymond is working with (NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine) to leverage this unique venue for the ceremony as a way to spotlight the decades-long partnership between (the Department of Defense) and NASA,” a Space Force official confirmed.

For more than 60 years, the military services have helped fill the ranks of NASA‘s astronaut corps, officials said.

“Space Force — as the newest military service — is looking forward to contributing to this legacy,” an official said.

Quelle: Washington Times