Latest news with #U.S.SpaceCommand
American Military News
30-05-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Alabama vs. Colorado: Space Command HQ location debate unresolved in new GAO report
A new review by congressional auditors finds U.S. Space Command is struggling with hiring and headquarters construction almost 18 months after it declared itself operationally ready. It also calls into question the Air Force's claim that moving the headquarters to Redstone Arsenal would result in hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings – a key justification that has been seized on by Alabama politicians in recent years. The report by the Government Accountability Office is the latest in a series of reviews of a 2023 decision by former President Joe Biden to locate the new command's permanent headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., where it had been temporarily housed. That choice came despite the U.S. Air Force naming Redstone Arsenal as the 'preferred location' in 2021 following a lengthy selection process. Since then, politicians from Colorado and Alabama have sparred over the proper location. Just this year, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Sen. Katie Britt and Rep. Dale Strong of Huntsville called on President Donald Trump to 'immediately proceed' to establish its permanent headquarters at Redstone. Last month, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a joint resolution in support as well. The report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office finds Space Command's headquarters operates out of four facilities in Colorado Springs, Colo. – only two of which are on secure military installations – and remains well short of its civilian staffing needs. 'Officials told us … the Command requires military construction of a permanent, purpose-built facility that is better suited to meet its unique power, information technology, square footage, and security needs,' auditors wrote. Due to the struggles with staffing and delays in construction, auditors wrote in the new report, Space Command's 'current command posture is not sustainable long-term.' Auditors attributed the delays in headquarters construction in part to a provision U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama's 3rd Congressional District added to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that halted money on Space Command's headquarters pending the outcome of two reviews: this one and one by the Pentagon's Inspector General. The halt has since lapsed, but as of March, Space Command officials told GAO auditors, there were, 'no updates on funding' for headquarters construction in Colorado Springs. Rogers said in an emailed statement that the report 'yet again affirms' that Huntsville is the best location for Space Command headquarters. He accused Biden of putting political concerns ahead of national security. 'This blatant interference and politization of a critical decision on national security would cost the taxpayer over $420 million,' Rogers said. 'President Trump chose the best location for SPACECOM headquarters. I look forward to working with the Trump Administration to rectify yet another one of Biden's national security blunders.' Republican Rep. Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs posted on X, 'The release of today's GAO Report is clear: Colorado Springs is the best home for U.S. Space Command's headquarters. Continued efforts to move the headquarters only hurts our national security.' In a statement to Strong pointed out that the GAO report highlights, 'inadequate and dispersed facilities, staffing shortages, and outdated infrastructure' in and around Peterson Space Force Base. 'Keeping the headquarters in Colorado Springs is projected to cost the taxpayer $426 million more than it would to transition to Huntsville,' he said. 'It's time to move forward with what's best for national security and bring U.S. Space Command Headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama.' The latest re-evaluation of the selection of a permanent headquarters for the U.S. military's newest combatant command reveals a handful of new details in the yearslong process. But it does not resolve the central conflict over cost vs. readiness, with the Air Force emphasizing the former in preferring Redstone Arsenal and Space Command the latter in preferring Colorado Springs. While the new report reiterates that the U.S. Air Force's recommendation the command be moved to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama is largely justified by the service's own selection criteria, it offers new details that auditors say call into question the validity of the Air Force's conclusions. A key sticking point – the disagreement between the Air Force and Space Command over how strongly to weigh costs vs. interruption of readiness – remains unresolved in part because a consultant hired by the Air Force to study the matter did not sufficiently document the process by which it arrived at $426 million in estimated cost savings by moving the command to Redstone. GAO auditors noted the Air Force itself assigned a confidence level to the cost savings of just 5%, which they called, 'a low level of confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the estimate.' As a result, the GAO report stated, some of the cost benefits the Air Force attributed to a move to Redstone 'were not rooted in complete or reliable analysis.' The GAO's review is the second of two requested by Rogers, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee. Last year, he asked the GAO and the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate the siting decision. In April, the Pentagon's IG report revealed concerns at the highest levels of Space Command that up to a thousand crucial civilian employees would refuse to relocate from Colorado to Alabama if the headquarters were to be moved to Redstone Arsenal. The GAO report, in turn, points to Space Command's continued problems in hiring civilian staffers, which are expected to make up 60% of overall command staff. As of October, Space Command had filled just 1,024 of 1,379 authorized positions, including 576 of 809 government civilian positions. The challenge arose due to 'uncertainty regarding the Command's final location and the complexities of hiring government civilians over the more straightforward process of assigning military personnel,' auditors wrote. About 380 temporary contractor personnel have been working for Space Command in Colorado Springs since it reached full operational capacity in December 2023. Space Command is the unified combat command for military space operations. The U.S. Space Force trains and equips most forces under Space Command, though the latter includes small elements from the other service branches. Space Command is charged with defending space and delivering space capabilities to joint and combined U.S. and allied forces. Locating the command in Huntsville would bring at least 1,600 new jobs, has reported. ___ © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Command Headquarters in Colorado 'Not Sustainable' Without New Construction, GAO Finds
A new congressional watchdog report looking into whether U.S. Space Command's headquarters would be best served by remaining in Colorado found that new construction would be needed to fix significant problems, a major revelation as the Trump administration weighs moving the command to Alabama. The Government Accountability Office, Congress' watchdog agency, published a report Thursday examining how former President Joe Biden's administration chose Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as Space Command's headquarters location despite the Air Force identifying Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as its preferred location, selected in the waning days of President Donald Trump's first term in 2021. "The command is fully operational, but U.S. Space Command officials told GAO that they faced ongoing personnel, facilities and communications challenges," the report detailed. "As a result of identified challenges, officials stated the command's posture is not sustainable long term and new military construction would be needed to support the headquarters' operations in Colorado Springs, Colorado." Read Next: Trump Pardons Former Army Officer Convicted of Disobeying COVID-19 Safety Rules The political fight over Space Command's future in either Alabama or Colorado has been a partisan tug-of-war for more than four years between the Trump and Biden's administrations, as well as the two states' delegations in Washington. Ultimately, with Trump back in office, many Republican lawmakers have been teasing for months that the president or his recently confirmed secretary of the Air Force would reverse Biden's decision. Thursday's GAO report is just the latest round in the battle over the command's location. Colorado's delegation, as well as other lawmakers, requested a GAO and Department of Defense inspector general's report following Trump's 2021 announcement, and Alabama lawmakers requested two similar probes into Biden's move to reverse that choice in 2023. Defense budgeting experts such as Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the revelation that new construction would be required for Space Command to stay in Colorado is a blow to that state's lawmakers. "The main argument for keeping it in Colorado was always that new construction would not be needed right away," Harrison told "But if that situation has changed, it certainly makes Alabama more favorable." The uncertainty in the final basing location has led to personnel issues, the GAO report said, revealing that Space Command was not fully staffed as of fall 2024 -- filling only 1,024 of 1,379 authorized positions, including 576 of 809 government civilian positions. Space Command officials interviewed by the GAO said this was "due to uncertainty regarding the command's final location and the complexities of hiring government civilians over the more straightforward process of assigning military personnel." In addition to the staffing woes, Space Command officials said existing facilities had shortcomings, noting they required "military construction of a permanent, purpose-built facility that is better suited to meet its unique power, information technology, square footage and security needs." The officials also told the GAO that "without new construction, command, control, and mission operations will continue to operate inefficiently with greater vulnerabilities to mission, facilities, and personnel." While being in Colorado and near other bases and commands -- U.S. Northern Command is nearby, for example -- offers benefits such as enhanced communication networks, there are also issues with sharing information technology networks with Peterson Space Force Base, the officials added. Alissa Czyz, director of the GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management team, told that the new report probed how Biden's decision was made, as well as what issues currently face Space Command. "There was some rigorous analysis performed, kind of in response to some shortcomings identified both by GAO and IG [the DoD inspector general] in our original reports, citing the need for additional analyses and also incorporating military leaders' views of the risks with whatever location," Czyz said. The GAO probe was one of two investigations into the Biden administration's decision requested by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., alongside a Pentagon inspector general investigation that was released last month. Rogers used his power over the Armed Services Committee to insert language into the annual defense policy bill in 2023 that temporarily halted funding for any Space Command headquarters construction pending the results of the investigations. Thursday's GAO report noted that, in July 2023, Space Command "proposed a construction project for a new multistory, permanent headquarters facility to replace its current temporary and leased facilities," which would start in 2029 and be complete by 2034 for a price tag of $1.5 billion. But Rogers' halt on construction funding froze those developments. "According to U.S. Space Command officials, this project was put on hold and no further planning for the construction of a headquarters facility in Colorado Springs had been initiated as of March 2025," the GAO report noted. Rogers released a statement on the new GAO report Thursday saying the findings provide further reason for the command to move to his state. "The GAO report yet again affirms that Huntsville is the best option for Space Command s headquarters," Roger said in the release. "When making his decision to locate the combatant command headquarters in Huntsville, President Trump prioritized transparency, national security, and a commitment to saving taxpayer dollars." Notably, neither former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall nor former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Pentagon investigators, citing privileged conversations with former President Biden. The DoD IG report, released in April, showed key details were still missing as to how Kendall identified Redstone Arsenal in Alabama as the preferred location, but Biden made the ultimate announcement and call. Czyz told that the GAO spoke with Kendall; according to her, he told investigators that "he was informed of the decision shortly before it happened." They also spoke with other senior defense and Air Force officials, but were not able to get information from the Biden White House, she added. The multiple investigations since 2021 have done little to sway opinion on Capitol Hill, where the Alabama and Colorado delegations have dug in and claimed vindication after each successive report. Colorado lawmakers appeared unready to give up Thursday, despite the GAO findings. "The release of today's GAO report is clear: Colorado Springs is the best home for U.S. Space Command's headquarters. Continued efforts to move the headquarters only hurts [sic] our national security," Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, posted on social media. "Space Command is fully operational, and the Department of Defense needs to move quickly to construct a permanent HQ at Peterson Space Force Base to put the issue to bed, once and for all." Related: Key Details Still Missing on Why Biden Made Final Call on Space Command's HQ, New Report Details
India.com
23-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
The golden dome: A bold vision or an overpriced dream?
The golden dome: A bold vision or an overpriced dream? Donald Trump has unveiled an ambitious plan to shield America from missile attacks with a space-based defense system called the 'Golden Dome.' Inspired by Ronald Reagan's vision from decades ago, Trump claims today's advanced technology makes this dream achievable. Unlike Israel's Iron Dome, which protects against short-range rockets, the Golden Dome aims to cover the entire United States using thousands of satellites. These satellites would detect enemy missiles and destroy them before they reach American soil. During his campaign, Trump promised to fund this project through a 'big and beautiful' tax bill, allocating $25 billion to kickstart it, with total costs estimated at $175 billion. However, Congress has yet to approve this funding, and experts warn the price tag could balloon to over $500 billion, taking decades to complete. Trump's timeline of two and a half to three years is also considered overly optimistic. The promise of 'close to 100% protection' sounds reassuring, but it's not that simple. A recent study by the American Physical Society highlights the challenge: to stop just ten North Korean Hwasong-18 missiles, the U.S. would need around 16,000 defensive missiles in space. Why so many? Hitting a missile in space is like shooting a bullet with another bullet at incredible speeds. Even the best systems aren't perfect, so multiple interceptors are needed for each incoming threat. Add to that the vastness of space, unpredictable missile paths, and enemy decoys, and the numbers grow quickly. The challenge gets tougher with time and territory. If decision-makers want just 30 seconds to think before launching interceptors, the number of defensive missiles jumps to 36,000. Protecting additional areas like Alaska or the Midwest would require thousands more. It's like guarding a massive fence line that stretches in every direction—each new section needs its own network of defenders. The Golden Dome is a response to a rapidly changing threat. For years, U.S. defenses focused on missiles coming over the North Pole from places like Russia. But new hypersonic missiles can change direction mid-flight, and 'fractional orbital' missiles circle the Earth before striking. Intelligence reports now show potential attacks from all directions—north, south, east, and west. Canada, a close ally, is even considering joining the project, as it faces similar risks. But the Golden Dome isn't just about defense—it's part of a larger battle for control of space. Russia and China are developing weapons to destroy satellites, which the Golden Dome would rely on. Russia's Cosmos 2553 satellite, for instance, is suspected to be a test for a nuclear bomb that could wipe out satellites across vast areas. China, meanwhile, is building anti-satellite weapons at an alarming pace, according to U.S. Space Command. Space is no longer just for exploration or communication. It's a new battleground where nations are racing to build defenses while creating weapons to disable each other's satellites. This creates a dangerous cycle: America plans to deploy thousands of satellites for the Golden Dome, while Russia and China develop tools to take them out. The stakes are higher than military defense. Satellites power everyday life—phone calls, internet, GPS navigation, even banking and power grids rely on precise timing from space. Attacks like jamming (blocking GPS signals) or spoofing (sending fake signals) are already on the rise. If space weapons destroy these satellites, it could disrupt everything from ATMs to traffic lights. The competition in space is getting intense. Russia's Cosmos 2576 satellite recently shadowed an American spy satellite, raising fears of a potential space weapon. China's TJS-4 satellite cleverly used the sun's shadow to hide from an American surveillance satellite. France is now exploring 'bodyguard' systems to protect its satellites with robots or lasers. Even the U.S. is playing this game—last month, an American satellite 'buzzed' two Chinese satellites, coming dangerously close in a provocative move. This cat-and-mouse game in space shows how nations are using satellites to stalk, intimidate, and outsmart each other. What was once a peaceful frontier is now a high-tech battlefield, with each side accusing the other of the same aggressive tactics they use themselves. The Golden Dome is a bold idea, but it comes with big questions. Can America afford a project that could cost half a trillion dollars? Will it deliver the near-perfect protection Trump promises? And how will it fare in a space increasingly crowded with threats? As the U.S. pushes forward, it must balance ambition with reality, ensuring this shield doesn't become a golden dream too costly to achieve. ( Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. Contact: girishlinganna@
Epoch Times
12-05-2025
- Science
- Epoch Times
Soviet-Era Spacecraft Plunges to Earth After 53 Years Stuck in Orbit
A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half-century after its failed launch to Venus. Its uncontrolled entry was confirmed by both the Russian Space Agency and European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking. The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location. The European Space Agency's space debris office also tracked the spacecraft's doom after it failed to appear over a German radar station. It was not immediately known how much, if any, of the half-ton spacecraft survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said ahead of time that some if not all of it might come crashing down, given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar system's hottest planet. The chances of anyone getting clobbered by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said. Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction. Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravity's tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander—an estimated 3 feet across—was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 1,000 pounds. Related Stories 5/2/2025 4/20/2025 Any surviving wreckage will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty. After following the spacecraft's downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty as well as the spacecraft's deteriorating condition after so long in space. After so much anticipation, some observers were disappointed by the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraft's grave. 'If it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,' Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said via X. As of Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraft's demise as it collected and analyzed data from orbit. The U.S. Space Command routinely monitors dozens of reentries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart—and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers—was that it was more likely to survive reentry, according to officials. It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris. By Marcia Dunn
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Soviet-era spacecraft plunges to Earth after 53 years stuck in orbit
A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half-century after its failed launch to Venus. Its uncontrolled entry was confirmed by both the Russian Space Agency and European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking. The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location. The European Space Agency's space debris office also tracked the spacecraft's doom after it failed to appear over a German radar station. It was not immediately known how much, if any, of the half-ton spacecraft survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said ahead of time that some if not all of it might come crashing down, given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar system's hottest planet. The chances of anyone getting clobbered by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said. Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction. Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravity's tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander — an estimated 3 feet (1 meter) across — was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms). Any surviving wreckage will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty. After following the spacecraft's downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty as well as the spacecraft's deteriorating condition after so long in space. After so much anticipation, some observers were disappointed by the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraft's grave. 'If it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,' Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said via X. As of Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraft's demise as it collected and analyzed data from orbit. The U.S. Space Command routinely monitors dozens of reentries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart — and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers — was that it was more likely to survive reentry, according to officials. It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
