The U.S. Defense Department is warning that some of the proposals contained in the House and Senate versions of the pending defense authorization bill for 2015 would delay and otherwise hinder the Air Force's efforts to reshape its space portfolio. In a 105-page packet of conference appeals from the Defense Department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs and obtained by SpaceNews, military leaders asked for changes that would allow the Air Force more freedom as it investigates future potential satellite architectures. House and Senate authorizers are expected to meet in conference before the year's end to reconcile the differences in their respective versions of the defense policy bill. Air Force officials have argued that a new contested and congested space environment calls for a constellation architecture that is less vulnerable than the current scheme, which relies heavily on large, multimission spacecraft. But some in Congress are resisting major changes, arguing that the service has not fully maximized the capabilities on the satellites it currently has on orbit.
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