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United States Space Force
General B. Chance Saltzman commands the U.S. Space Force, directing roughly $30B annually into military space acquisition and operations.
United States Space Force
Established on December 20, 2019, the United States Space Force emerged from the former Air Force Space Command as the first new military service since 1947. Its Chief of Space Operations, General B. Chance Saltzman, leads a force charged with organizing, training, and equipping Guardians to protect US and allied interests in space. The wealth origin is a congressionally appropriated budget under Title 10, U.S. Code, positioning the service as the Pentagon's primary institutional allocator for military space programs. Deployment concentrates on a handful of massive acquisition programs and sustained operations. The portfolio spans satellite communications, with the Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) program; missile warning, through the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system (Next-Gen OPIR); and position, navigation, and timing, via the GPS IIIF satellite constellation. Funding also supports the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, where SpaceX and United Launch Alliance compete for medium and heavy-lift launches. The Space Development Agency, now part of the Space Force, layers in a proliferated low-Earth orbit transport and missile-tracking mesh network. Geographically, procurement flows to major aerospace hubs in California, Colorado, Florida, and Alabama. The service requested approximately $29.4 billion for fiscal year 2025 (per the Department of Defense Budget Request, March 2024), a sum that rivals the discretionary budgets of some cabinet departments. The Space Force operates additional field commands in Colorado Springs and Vandenberg Space Force Base. In March 2024, Saltzman announced a re-organization of the service's command structure into Integrated Mission Deltas, designed to combine operations, sustainment, and acquisition authority under single commanders. The structural differentiator is the Space Force's fusion of an operational warfighting command with a massive procurement and research-and-development engine. Unlike NASA, which is civilian and exploration-focused, the Space Force combines the acquisition authority to fund next-generation technology with the operational mandate to employ it immediately for military effect. This dual role makes it a unique catalyst for commercial space firms and primes alike, awarding development contracts that underwrite the engineering capacity of the entire American space industrial base.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
2019
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Washington
Corporate office
Washington, DC, United States
Additional offices
Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Principals
General B. Chance Saltzman
Chief of Space Operations
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the acquisition authority to commit funds for new space systems?
Primary acquisition authority rests with the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, a civilian Senate-confirmed position, acting as the service acquisition executive. The Space Force's operational commands, particularly the newly formed Integrated Mission Deltas, shape requirements and manage programs in partnership with the Space Systems Command in Los Angeles.
How does the Space Force structure its major launch and satellite procurement programs?
Procurement is organized into large, competitive programs of record. National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 uses a dual-lane approach: Lane 1 for commercially facing, lower-risk missions and Lane 2 for the most critical government payloads. Major satellite systems, such as the Evolved Strategic SATCOM and Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared programs, follow a traditional defense acquisition model with a small pool of defense primes as lead contractors.
Does the Space Force invest in early-stage commercial startups or venture capital?
The Space Force does not operate a venture capital arm in the manner of In-Q-Tel. However, its SpaceWERX office in Los Angeles awards Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Strategic Financing (STRATFI) contracts to startups, providing non-dilutive funding for dual-use space technologies. These instruments function as an on-ramp for commercial firms into the defense market.
How is the Space Force related to the Space Development Agency (SDA)?
The Space Development Agency was originally established under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and transferred to the Space Force in October 2022. It now operates as a direct reporting unit within the service, responsible for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a layered network of hundreds of low-Earth orbit satellites for missile tracking and data transport.
What is the Space Force's posture on co-investing with allied nations?
The Space Force actively pursues burden-sharing through international partnership agreements. Several allies have contributed to hosted payloads on GPS III satellites, and the service has formal cooperative programs with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC). These are structured as defense-sharing arrangements rather than pooled private investment funds.
What is the service's operating budget size relative to NASA?
For fiscal year 2025, the Space Force requested approximately $29.4 billion in budget authority (per the Department of Defense Budget Request, March 2024). NASA's corresponding request was roughly $25.4 billion. This makes the Space Force the larger annual spender on space, though NASA's funding emphasizes science and exploration while the Space Force's budget is focused on national security applications.
Who manages the Space Force's procurement and contracting workforce?
The Space Systems Command, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California, employs a civilian and military workforce that manages the service's largest acquisition programs. The command is led by a three-star general and serves as the central buying organization for satellites, launch services, and ground-control systems.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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