The Congressional Budget Office also says that setting up the new Space Force proposed by the Trump administration would involve startup costs ranging from $2 billion to $5 billion and would increase defense expenditures by about $1 billion to $2 billion a year.
Here’s a quick summary of the new CBO analysis of potential Space Force costs, which examined the three organizational structures proposed by the Trump administration and two additional options:
A new Space Force department: 5,400 to 7,800 personnel; $1.4 billion to $3.2 billion in startup costs; $1 billion to $1.5 billion in annual costs.
A new Space Force service within an existing department: 4,100 to 6,800 personnel; $1.1 billion to $3.0 billion in startup costs; $820 million to $1.3 billion in annual costs.
A new Space Force combat command: 400 to 600 personnel; $520 million to $1.0 billion in startup costs; $80 million to $120 million in annual costs.
A new Space Force development and acquisition agency: 1,200 to 2,300 personnel; $220 million to $560 million in startup costs; $240 million to $460 million in annual costs.
A new Space Force policy directorate: 40 to 300 personnel; less than $10 million in startup costs; $10 million to $60 million in annual costs.
CBO noted that the Trump administration “has provided few details about what the three organizations that it has proposed would look like or how large they would be,” leading to a wide range of cost estimates. In the most extreme scenario, in which Space Force included a new service, a new combat command and a new development and acquisition agency, setup costs could come to $4.7 billion, while operating costs could increase by $1.9 billion per year.
