The U.S. Air Force's top uniformed space official continues to push for what he says is his top budget priority, a follow-on to a space surveillance satellite launched in 2010, but indications are that the effort is not funded in U.S. President Barack Obama's forthcoming budget request for 2015. That means the Air Force potentially faces a lengthy gap in capability once the current Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite reaches the end of its lifetime. "We think this satellite will likely hit end of life sometime around 2017," Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, said in a Feb. 7 speech here. "The great news is our industry produces satellites that last longer than we think they will. So we're hopeful that this one does because the follow-on is in question right now. But we have got to sustain this capability."
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