Space Force officials tell appropriators they need steady funds to build resilient constellations and counterspace capacity
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Space Force testified that limited resources in recent budgets have strained its ability to meet growing mission demands and that investments in proliferated constellations, counterspace capacity and test/training infrastructure are priorities in FY‑26.
Brig. Gen. Chance Salzman, representing the Space Force at the hearing, told the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee that space threats are growing while the service’s resources have shrunk, creating risk for national security and the joint force.
“Space has likewise become the backbone of our national security,” Salzman said. He told the committee that the Space Force now performs a widening set of missions—expanded launch tempo at national spaceports, additional space control capabilities, modeling and simulation, and requirements tied to the administration’s Golden Dome concept—and that those new tasks demand steady, multi‑year resourcing.
Salzman identified three priorities for FY‑26: proliferated constellations to create resiliency for missile warning and data transport; counterspace capabilities built to the scale needed to hold adversary space assets at risk; and test and training infrastructure including simulators, ranges and digital environments. “Proliferating constellations… makes that a targeting problem,” Salzman said. “More money means I can deliver that proliferated constellation faster.”
He also described near‑term demonstrations to advance space maneuver and on‑orbit refueling: a propellant depot demonstration is on contract and scheduled to launch in 2026, followed by a broader series of demos in 2027 to collect data for technical standards and interfaces. Zurging investment in sensors and space domain awareness was highlighted as critical to enable rendezvous/proximity operations and to build cyber resilience in satellite command and control.
Members asked for classified follow‑ups on counterspace details and pressed for a clear timeline on the department’s FY‑26 request; Space Force leaders said the service’s budget details are being finalized and could not be released during the hearing.