A Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday estimates the Pentagon’s proposed space organizations will require thousands of additional personnel and cost billions more than DOD originally projected, Space News reported.
The report, requested by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), details that personnel and program investments would add up to $1.3 billion yearly, significantly exceeding DOD’s $500 million yearly projected costs.
According to the report, a new separate military service, a combatant command and a Space Development Agency would tally up to $1.9 billion annually.
The CBO presented its estimates without offering specific conclusions.
“In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, the report makes no recommendations,” CBO Director Keith Hall wrote.
The report estimated costs of five different proposed organizations: a separate military space force, a space force under Air Force command – as proposed by DOD – a combatant command, a Space Development Agency and a space policy directorate.
The Trump administration’s fiscal 2020 DOD budget request seeks funding for three of those five options: a space force, a Space Command and a Space Development Agency.
Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zoe Thacker