The U.S. announced the launch of a new Space Force in 2019. Its purpose: to secure our satellite communication networks that not only power our information ecosystems, but also control the navigation and positioning systems we use.

President Donald Trump signed a $738 billion defense bill, a portion of which will be earmarked for the new agency, which is also expected to have up to 15,000 military personnel.

But the U.S. isn’t the only country with a military space program; both Russia and China maintain their own space forces. It’s unlikely that a traditional war would be fought in space—these departments are about securing critical network and communications infrastructure from government-sponsored cyberhacking.