In this exclusive episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, for his first and only interview on two landmark documents released today: the Future Operating Environment and the Objective Force.

These aren't talking points. They're the blueprint, the Space Force's clearest public statement yet on where the service is headed, what it's building, and why it matters. And General Saltzman chose to break it down here first.

From force design to future budgets, from allied partnerships to Guardian readiness, this episode goes further than any public statement has gone before, straight from the CSO himself.

Thank you to CXAL (Connected Alliances) for sponsoring this episode of Spacepower Podcast. To learn more about CXAL, visit ⁠https://cx-al.com

Hosted by Bill Woolf
Produced by Ty Holliday

Guest: General B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations,
United States Space Force

As CSO, General Saltzman sets the direction for the entire service, its doctrine, its forces, and its future. The Future Operating Environment and Objective Force represent his vision for what the Space Force must become to meet the demands of the most contested and crucial domain.

Read the Future Operating Environment: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Portals/2/Documents/SAF_2026/Future_Operating_Environment_2040.pdf

Read the Objective Force:
https://www.spaceforce.mil/Portals/2/Documents/SAF_2026/OFD_2040_Baseline_Final.pdf

Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/

See the accompanying blog post: https://ussfa.org/exclusive-cso-objective-force/

Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/

For inquiries: publicaffairs@ussfa.org

Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.

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This video is private.

The FY27 President's Budget request for the U.S. Space Force comes in at $71.24 billion, more than double the prior year, and the largest budget request in the service's history. But what does a number like that actually mean, and will Congress fund it?

Read Shawn Barnes Full Op-Ed: https://ussfa.org/shawn-barnes-pbr-response/

In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with two guests who've lived this process from the inside: Shawn Barnes, who spent years walking space budgets to Capitol Hill as the Department of the Air Force's primary liaison to the Appropriations Committee, and SFA CEO Brig. Gen. (ret.) Damon Feltman, who helped build the Space Force budget structure from inside the Pentagon as Deputy Director of the S-5.

Together, they break down what this request really says about the administration's commitment to space, and what stands between this budget and becoming law.

In this conversation, they discuss:

Why both guests had an immediate "wow — and about time" reaction to the top line
What Congress will actually focus on: execution risk, empire-building concerns, and line-by-line scrutiny
Why the $71B is Space Force dollars — separate from Golden Dome funding — and what that signals strategically
The manpower surge: from ~10,600 Guardians to a proposed 13,200, and what that ramp could mean long-term
How the reconciliation/appropriations split structure complicates the path to passage
Space Domain Awareness funding more than doubling — and whether it's enough against China and Russia
The classified R&D budget jumping from $6.5B to $17.3B, and how you defend a number you can't explain publicly
P-LEO SATCOM investment and what it signals to the commercial sector
Launch services tripling — and the industrial base bottlenecks that money alone won't solve
The AMTI/GMTI mission transfer to space and whether the Space Force is organizationally ready
A 250% increase in education and training — and why it's probably still a down payment
SFA's Capitol Hill briefing series and how the association is helping educate members and staff on what this budget is really asking for

Hosted by Bill Woolf
Produced by Ty Holliday

Guests:
Shawn Barnes, Former Department of the Air Force Primary Liaison to the Appropriations Committee and Former Chief of Space Policy, Joint Staff. One of the most experienced voices in navigating the intersection of space investment and congressional politics.

Brig. Gen. (ret.) Damon Feltman, CEO, Space Force Association. Former Deputy Director of the Space Force S-5 (budget) and former Numbered Air Force Vice Commander. Feltman helped build the Space Force's budget architecture from inside the Pentagon before retiring from civil service.

Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/

Read Shawn Barnes Full Op-Ed: https://ussfa.org/shawn-barnes-pbr-response/

Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/

Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the individual speakers and do not represent the views of the U.S. Government, Department of War, or their respective organizations.

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