The House Appropriations Committee has advanced a defense spending bill that funds the U.S. Space Force at $55.5 billion for fiscal year 2026, matching the Biden administration's discretionary request. The draft legislation, however, notably omits $350 billion in proposed reconciliation spending, casting uncertainty over major space programs including the missile-tracking satellite constellation known as Golden Dome.
The $55.5 billion allocation covers core operations, procurement, and research for the Space Force but leaves out the supplemental funds that would have accelerated next-generation space-based sensors and ground systems. Lawmakers cited budget caps and competing priorities as reasons for excluding the reconciliation package, which had been touted by Pentagon officials as critical to countering Chinese and Russian space threats.
Deliberations on the bill are expected to continue through the summer, with final passage unlikely before September. The exclusion of reconciliation funds means Golden Dome, a high-priority program for tracking hypersonic missiles from orbit, will rely solely on existing appropriations unless Congress acts separately. Past budget cycles have seen similar reconciliation proposals stall amid partisan disputes over overall spending levels.
Space Force leaders have warned that without the supplemental funding, deployment timelines for key assets could slip by 12 to 18 months. Commercial satellite operators and defense contractors, including those building the Space Development Agency's transport layer, face potential contract delays. The omission also threatens planned industry partnerships for proliferated low-Earth orbit architectures that were expected to accelerate under the reconciliation framework.
Critics argue that the $55.5 billion figure is already robust, representing a 3% increase over the previous year, but advocates counter that the pace of space threats demands faster investment. Without the additional reconciliation funds, the Space Force's ability to field a resilient, multi-orbit sensor network on schedule remains in doubt.