In a Pentagon memo released in July, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the military to play nice in space.

The memo changes nothing for the American military, which has managed satellite constellations for generations. But it does send a clear American message to allies, rivals and the vast crowd of commercial enterprises elbowing their way into orbit: “We play by rules and so should you.”

The memo is notable for its clarity and brevity, and it boils expectations down to grade school simplicity.

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Here are the rules:

“Operate in, from, to, and through space with due regard to others and in a professional manner. Limit the generation of long-lived debris. Avoid the creation of harmful interference. Maintain safe separation and safe trajectory. Communicate and make notifications to enhance the safety and stability of the domain.”

Basically, the Pentagon will play nice with others in space, clean up its own messes, stay in line on field trips and use its words.

This kind of declaration wasn’t needed just a few years ago, when space was dominated by a few governments and multibillion dollar corporations. Back then, putting a satellite into space was prohibitively expensive, at more than $10,000 per pound. Now, with reusable rockets and increasing competition to launch satellites, a ride to orbit costs about $1,000 a pound and the price is expected to keep falling.

The lower cost of space flight has triggered an explosion of satellites. Eight years ago, there were fewer than 1,200 satellites orbiting the planet. In the first six months of 2021 alone, more than 1,200 satellites rocketed to orbit.

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In this orbiting boomtown, the Pentagon wants to at least be a civic leader in the absence of a sheriff.

“It is incumbent on the department to continue space leadership through demonstrating and acknowledging responsible behavior in space,” Austin wrote.

With the new Space Force, the military has cavalry that can ride to the rescue if a war breaks out in orbit. But with satellites by the thousands crowding into space, there’s still no sheriff to police the place.

The latest laws governing space were written before most people on the planet were born and before man had walked on the moon.

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The Batman television series was brand new and the miniskirt had just hit Paris fashion shows when the Outer Space Treaty was signed in 1966. The treaty did some good things, including placing a ban on military uses of the moon.

But in 1966, few science-fiction writers had predicted the kind of gold rush now going on in space. And with tourists getting thrill rides to orbit and private space stations planned, space will be even busier soon.

Leaders beyond the Pentagon need to figure out how to keep order in this orbiting Wild West. The Biden administration would do well to convene a gathering of space leaders from around the planet to talk it through.

Many of those leaders will be in Colorado Springs this month for the Space Symposium. Biden should take advantage of having the right people in the right place. We already now it’s the right time to bring order to orbit.