The new office, led by Claire Leon, will work to integrate acquisition programs across Space Systems Command, the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, Breaking Defense has learned.
The Defense Business Board study, however, recommends against folding the NRO and MDA into the Space Force.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
The unclassified strategy communicates "our commitment to protect the Joint Force from adversary hostile uses of space," said DoD Space Policy czar John Plumb.
Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, as head of SSC, has enormous responsibility for space acquisition programs, but lacks direct financial control.
Frank Calvelli says he will use the congressionally mandated Space Acquisition Council to herd the various Space Force acquisition cats.
"Clearly, this is not what Congress intended," one former senior DoD official notes.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
"In space, particularly, we've got to have a model that is very different than the one we used the last century," Roper summed up. "We're going to need to evaluate companies that have the potential to commercialize successfully as a delineator of who we partner with."
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett's report to Congress on future space acquisition will include a plan to reform the way JROC sets requirements.