President Trump's Space Force got a lot more real today: The Pentagon has begun the process of establishing it as a 6th branch of the U.S. military by 2020.

The big picture: Only Congress has the power to create a new branch of the military. The Space Force will start with a new combatant command overseen by a four-star general.

Details: In a speech with Defense Secretary James Mattis today, Vice President Mike Pence outlined the first stages of a plan that the Department of Defense will deliver to Congress to develop a U.S. Space Force.

• The plan includes four pillars, including the need to "strengthen deterrence and warfighting options."
• The Defense Department is requesting that Congress appropriate another $8 billion for space security systems over the next 5 years and will work with Congress to enact a statutory authority in the National Defense Authorization Act for these programs.
• Pence and Mattis cite anti-satellite weaponry and other technologies by countries such as China and Russia, as emerging threats that must be countered.
• Trump tweet after the announcement: "Space Force all the way!"

Axios' Andrew Freedman emails: "This strikes me as an interesting balance between the Pentagon trying to placate Trump, initially with a combatant command that has a 4-star general, while working toward establishing a space force as a separate military branch."

• "The new command supercedes the existing Space Command within the Air Force. But the Space Force! slogan is like a rallying cry at Trump's events now, people wear t-shirts with it on there."

The bottom line: The next debate will be whether a sixth branch of the Defense Department, and the bureaucracy that it includes, is the best way to tackle that problem.

Go deeper: NASA administrator throws support behind Trump's 'Space Force'

Dogs and their humans at an "ALPHA - Bring Your Own Dog (BYOD)" screening in San Francisco.

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A new audiobook from J.K. Rowling's publishing house will dive even deeper into the magical world that birthed Harry Potter, narrated by Natalie Dormer of "Game of Thrones."

• "'Harry Potter: A History of Magic'" will go on sale Oct. 4. ... [T]he book will feature "hidden stories" about magic and tell of the manuscripts, myths and other artifacts that J.K. Rowling drew upon for her blockbuster fantasy series."

Go deeper: Listen to Dormer preview the book