and responsibilities of the various or- ganizations involved. Relatedly, the USSF workforce needs to be educated on architecture vision, definitions, re- sponsible offices, and relationships among systems and missions within the architecture. The research team also observed in 2022 that the USSF had insuffi- cient system-of-systems design tal- ent—something to which the SAE needs reliable access. In the short term, the team found ways to assign architectural roles and responsibilities within the Space Warfighting Analysis Center, the Space Systems Integration Office (SSIO), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ). Calvelli’s decision in July 2024 to elevate SSIO from Space Sys- tems Command to his SAF/SQ staff was consistent with this finding, and the move offers an opportunity to drive integration across the USSF. In the long term, the USSF needs a workforce study to determine how best to create and sustain organic system-of-systems and system engineering expertise. Alignment of USSF organizations. Creating new organizations within the USSF, or changing the scope and authorities of existing organizations,
is ongoing. Much uncertainty stems from the rapid organizational churn and can be lessened by formalizing mission statements and charters that clarify organizational intent, with a particular eye toward distinguishing acquisition chain of command from organize, train, and equip responsibili- ties and better defining the feedback paths from operations to acquisition. Coordinating feedback between the operational and acquisition com- munities is especially important during the capability development process, when operational needs are translated into acquisition of materiel solutions. Researchers looked closely at USSF capability development and recommended implementable changes to these processes based on best practices. Drawing from discus- sions with more than 50 USSF stake- holders, the research team designed a capability development process with multiple feedback paths to inform USSF acquisition policy and guidance. They documented their findings in a 2024 report, Transforming Capability Re- quirements Development in the United States Space Force . Our observation is that the USSF is making steady progress toward align- ing its organizational structure to nec-
essary acquisition roles, responsibili- ties, and process. Transitioning space innovations into operational capabilities. A sig- nificant challenge to harnessing in- novation and experimentation is the lack of visibility into the many ongoing efforts across the USSF and, in some cases, across the space enterprise. Organizations involved in space in- novation need to improve stakeholder visibility into their efforts both within the USSF and other federal agencies. But setting up organizations that focus on innovation and experimenta- tion and increasing awareness of their activities is only part of the solution. These improvements ultimately need to be transitioned to programs of re- cord, which means that organizations need to be incentivized to accept the cost, schedule, and performance risks in integrating newer technology. To improve technology transition, the USSF needs to foster an acquisi- tion system that values enterprise and mission success over personal or individual program success. In addi- tion, it needs to investigate options for recruiting and retaining acquisition talent to ensure that enough acquisi- tion personnel are recruited with the skills and experience to readily adapt innovation and experimentation into programs of record. Cultural change must also ex- tend to developing a more respon- sive acquisition system. This means overcoming requirement inflexibility, ensuring adequate funding to sup- port technology transition, allowing for greater flexibility in funding al- location, and developing criteria for termination of aging systems and delayed programs. Ultimately, developed capabilities must be effectively fielded from the acquisition community to the space operational community. This requires synchronizing and integrating newer capabilities with already operation- al legacy systems, which involves planning throughout the acquisi- tion life cycle for the eventual trans- ition. The acquisition and operational
Artist rendering of the X-37B conducting an aerobraking maneuver using the drag of Earth’s atmosphere. Source: Courtesy graphic by Boeing Space.
40 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | March-April 2025
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker