U.S. Space Force to build new facility, move acquisition unit and expand officer training course in Colorado, lawmaker says
As the Space Force prepares for rapid growth in the coming years, it wants to build a new operations center in Colorado Springs to support the Golden Dome program and “a lot of space testing,” according to the lawmaker representing the district.
This operations center will be built at Schriever Space Force Base and is one of four new facilities included in the Pentagon’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, said Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) in a Tuesday interview. “Each of them is about a $250 million facility.”
Congress has not yet passed the fiscal 2027 budget. The Pentagon’s request seeks just over $71 billion for Space Force — up from the $31.6 billion it received in fiscal 2026. The Space Force does not have an independent construction budget and was instead grouped in the U.S. Air Force’s budget.
Space Force spokesperson declined to provide further details about the plans for the new facility, which Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced May 29 via a joint statement with Crank.
Crank told me the new Colorado Springs operations center would add “about 5,700 [positions] for military and civilian” workers and is slated to open “by 2030.” He added “they’re in the process, right now, of designing that.”
“We really can’t slow down some of the space operations center,” Crank said, because “a big part of their mission will be Golden Dome.”
President Donald Trump has said this multilayered missile defense shield will be operational before his term ends in early 2029.
Additionally, Crank said the Space Force is moving its infrastructure program acquisition executive office to Peterson Space Force Base, also in Colorado Springs, and expanding the base’s yearlong officer training course. “They’re going to grow that [course] from 600 to 1,800” officers within two years, he said.
Crank said yesterday he expects these programs will result in Colorado Springs growing its workforce “far more” than the roughly 1,000 civilian and military positions he estimates it will lose as U.S. Space Command’s headquarters moves to Huntsville, Alabama.
“A lot of the operational components of Space Command are staying,” he added.
Asked about the capacity for Peterson and Schriever to absorb these increases, Crank said Peterson is “stuffed to the gills,” but both bases have available land.
“It’s a lot of moving parts, and it’s a lot for the department to manage,” Crank said, “but I think they’re up to the challenge.”
