The Personnel Requirements and Costs of New Military Space Organizations
Abstract
The U.S. military conducts many operations that involve space. Such operations consist mostly of launching, operating, and maintaining satellites that are used for various purposes, such as communicating, observing the weather, and monitoring other countries' missile launches. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 23,000 full-time positions within the Department of Defense (DoD) are dedicated to performing space activities or to supporting those who do - excluding space activities in the intelligence agencies. At the moment, 93 percent of those positions are in the Department of the Air Force. The Administration has proposed changing that arrangement by creating what it calls a space force - an independent military service within the Department of the Air Force. The Administration has also proposed two more space organizations in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2020: a new combatant command and a new agency that would be responsible for the development and acquisition of space systems. Furthermore, the Administration has proposed creating a civilian Under Secretary for Space who would supervise the space service, report to the Secretary of the Air Force, and perhaps make policy about space.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1134934
Entities
People
- Adam Talaber
- F. M. Woodward
- Jason Coleman
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office