Congress set aside some gifts for the Space Force in a recently passed defense bill as the military branch marks its sixth birthday. 

With more than 50% of the Space Force’s guardians working in Colorado, it is an economic driver for the state and a critical piece of national infrastructure as space becomes more contested and fills up with satellites and debris that must be managed.  

In the National Defense Authorization Act that President Donald Trump signed this week, Congress increased the number of guardians Space Force can employ from 9,800 in 2025 to 10,400 in 2026. 

It’s a number that Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colorado Springs, expects will continue to grow and bolster the local economy, he said. It also follows job losses among Space Force’s civilian ranks following the Trump administration’s deferred resignation and retirement programs.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora, also recently lauded the military wins for Colorado in the bill. 

“As a leader on the Armed Services Committee, I’m proud to have secured bipartisan wins for Colorado and our military that will strengthen our readiness, modernize our military, and support our servicemembers and their families,” he said. “This bill isn’t perfect, but it’ll deliver for Colorado.”

Through the negotiation process between the Senate and the House on the bill, the Space Force got an additional $1.1 billion for research and development, boosting that piece of its budget up to about $16 billion. 

Additional investments in space are critical to stay ahead of the Chinese, Crank said, noting he backed more focus and investment for satellites in very low-Earth orbit because of the surveillance opportunities those satellites offer. The final bill requires the National Reconnaissance Office and the Space Force to study those opportunities, Crank said. The bill also includes a large investment in the next generation of GPS satellites that everyone relies on for banking and navigation, among other services. 

The U.S. is now sending more satellites to orbit than China, Lt. Gen. Greg Gagnon, who leads U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command, noted on Friday during a ceremony to mark the service’s sixth birthday.  

“We have returned to being the launch leader of the world,” he said, noting that when Space Force began, it was lagging behind the Chinese. 

But to stay ahead will take a larger investment in personnel than Congress has been making on an annual basis, said Bill Woolf, president and CEO of the Space Force Association. 

“If we are only able to grow 1,000 people per year for the next seven years, is that enough?” he asked. “We don’t think so.”

The current Space Force staff is focused on day-to-day activities and more guardians are needed to build out new capabilities, he said.