Pentagon acquisition of space systems needs to be "faster and leaner," stressed Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who is expected to chair the House strategic forces subcommittee next year.
"We made it clear when we stood this up that it is going to be an evolutionary process, and that we just stood up the bare bones in the first year — because it's hard enough to do that," Rep. Mike Rogers said. "And we're putting the flesh on the bones each year trying to mature it in a slow and pragmatic fashion, and do it right."
Absolute positioning is critical in contested and denied environments.
“We’ve got to be tougher, faster, bolder," said Rep. Jim Cooper. "And I'm really not seeing that like I would like to see."
"What we don't want to do is launch a weapon that then opens a seeker and there's nothing there, because the target has maneuvered," Vice Adm. Jon Hill, said.
"I think before you hand off the ball, let's make sure there won't be a fumble -- and the Space Force has a lot on it's plate right now," Rep. Jim Cooper says.
On the space acquisition czar, Rep. Jim Cooper said: "let's not let the politics of the Puzzle Palace dominate here. We can and must figure this out."
As space threats continue to evolve, existing satellites need new capabilities to defend and protect, even after launch.
The Space Development Agency "could easily die away without anybody missing it," said former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.
"I like Dr. Griffin, but he should have come back to us and talked to us before he made that decision," complained Rep. Mike Rogers about funds for space-base sensors shifting to SDA.
"I think maybe there is a mutual assured destruction in space," Rep. Lamborn said, "where no one will go there because the consequences will be too severe."
The 2020 mandates an independent study of whether MDA should be moved from R&E to the purview of Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) Ellen Lord.
As missions stretch farther and comms grow less reliable, predictive software could become the edge that keeps missions afloat.
"Given the DoD’s poor job of presenting how we would move people and what criteria would be used, the congressional pushback is expected," says one Space Force proponent.
"I don't trust the Air Force, on its own, given its existing structure to properly prioritize space," Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith says.
The day before Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahn appears before the HASC, Chairman Smith hammers White House Space Force.
Military space programs have to navigate a maze of 60 agencies. Creating a Space Force may not make things simpler.