Senate Appropriators Propose $24B FY2022 Budget Boost for Space Force

A new defense spending bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a $500 million boost to the budget requested by the U.S. Space Force for fiscal year 2022.

If passed, the Space Force’s total budget for FY2022 would increase to $17.9 billion.

Under the proposed budget, the nascent service branch would receive $120 million for weapons system sustainment, which accounts for the biggest chunk in its unfunded priority list. The senators also earmarked $75 million for increased basic research and $61 million to accelerate a flight experiment in cislunar space, a region that has increasingly become an area of interest for the Space Force, Air Force Magazine reported.

However, the draft bill slashes the budget for the Overhead Persistent Infrared satellite program, with lawmakers stating in a report that funding requested for Next-Gen OPIR contracts are in excess of the contracted value despite their fixed-price nature.

The Next-Gen OPIR constellation is being designed by prime contractor Lockheed Martin and is billed as the nation’s next premier missile warning satellite constellation for detecting missile threats all over the world. The Space Force is allocating $14.4 billion for the satellite system over the next four years.

Besides allocating funding for the Space Force, the defense spending bill proposed by Senate appropriators provides for the increased adoption of artificial intelligence capabilities at combatant commands. It also includes an additional $100 million for better talent recruitment and development in AI-related fields.