The Department of Defense has requested $88 million to complete the Consolidated Space Operations Facility at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado to support U.S. Space Command and Space Force operations, DoD reported Tuesday.
Congress approved $148 million for the CSOF on 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. A portion of the funds were allocated in last year’s budget to pay for the design and some construction work.
The additional funding for fiscal 2021 will fall under the Air Force’s military construction budget and support plans to finish construction work by March 2022.
“The CSOF is a next-generation facility,” Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said at the National Press Club during a conference hosted by the Space Foundation.
He said the facility is a top priority of the Joint Task Force Space Defense, a new organization that is part of U.S. Space Command. The defense team, with the U.S. intelligence community, operates the classified National Space Defense Center. The where operators and analysts at the center monitor potential threats in outer space and draw up options to defend satellites if they come under attack.
According to USAF documents, the renovated facility housing NSDC activities is “undersized and cannot continue to meet all operational requirements.”
