The mockup described in the posts features a color palette of “space gray, midnight black, silver gray, and satin black,” and includes knee-high jackboots, with the Space Force Delta symbol appearing on the collar, sleeve patch, and belt buckle.
The design drew immediate comparisons online to Nazi SS uniforms and to Star Wars “Imperial” officers, with The Independent noting that the graphic includes a sleek, charcoal-colored collared jacket and pants with a black belt, black boots and a matching cap.
The Independent also reported that the graphic says the design is “inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform. Modernized for the guardians of the space domain,” tying the Space Force look directly to the 1997 sci-fi film.
The Space Force was created in 2019, and the uniforms are presented as a shift from the existing Space Force dress uniform described as a diagonal six-button tunic representing the sixth branch of the U.S. military.
Starship Troopers director Paul Verhoeven, who grew up in Nazi-occupied Netherlands, has described the film as an “ironic” vision of a “fascist utopia,” and The Telegraph said Verhoeven told The Guardian in 2022, “I decided to make a movie about fascists who aren’t aware of their fascism.”
The Telegraph further reported that Verhoeven drew from fascist propaganda films such as the Triumph of the Will and outfitted Neil Patrick Harris in what he said was essentially an SS uniform, with Harris reportedly known as “Doogie Himmler.”
DWThe Independent captured the social-media backlash with a post from healthcare advocate Melanie D’Arrigo on X saying, “Designing the Space Force uniforms to look like the evil bad guys from Star Wars, who are led by an elderly, power hungry tyrant, who lose, repeatedly, is a bit too on brand, no?”
The Independent also quoted menswear writer Derek Guy describing the design as “This is the kind of design costume designers make to tell you who are the bad guys in a space movie,” while other users compared the look to Star Wars uniforms and Nazis.
In parallel, DW reported that Trump published an AI-generated image on Truth Social and that “muchos usuarios en redes sociales” pointed to similarities with SS uniforms, including black color, a belt, knee-high boots, and a cap.
The Spanish-language report from DW added that it was “No está claro si la imagen publicada por Trump es el uniforme definitivo de la Fuerza Espacial o si se trata de una mera propuesta del líder republicano,” leaving the status of the uniform unresolved.
DW also reported that Trump had previously shared an image of the moon on Truth Social with the phrase “la luna es nuestra,” and that the controversy over the uniform came as the U.S. space program expanded.
CiberCuba reported that Trump’s Space Academy plan was framed by an executive order signed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the academy set to train astronauts and also “scientists, engineers, operators, entrepreneurs, public officials and combatientes,” and that graduates would be required to serve time in the Armed Forces or at NASA.C
In the same broader context, CiberCuba said the presidential commission defining the academy’s structure was “presidida por el administrador de la NASA Jared Isaacman” and had “un plazo de 120 días para presentar su informe,” linking the uniform controversy to a continuing push for new space institutions.C