Space Development Agency | The Contracting Education Academy

February 10, 2021 By cs

DoD is centralizing space acquisition, but still has bugs to work out

The Air Force is reorganizing its space acquisition office to better support the Space Force and other new space entities, but there are still questions surrounding exactly how the Pentagon will consolidate its space procurement.

Earlier this month the Air Force revamped its space acquisition shop by splitting it into three directorates.

“We have gone from an organization that was largely focused on policy and providing advice and counsel to the Air Force secretary to one that is now focused on, or will be focused on, acquisition, architecture, and then policy and integration,” Shawn Barnes, who is performing the duties of Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, told reporters last week.

The three directorates are each run by a colonel and will focus on the three areas Barnes mentioned: acquisition, architecture, and policy and integration.

“Underlying those three key directorates,” Barnes said. “I have a number of subject matter experts that effectively work for all three of those directorates. They’re set up into different teams based on mission areas. We have a mission area related to precision navigation, timing and communications. We have a team that is focused on space control, a team that is focused on launch in space logistics, and then a team that’s focused on space control.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/air-force/2021/01/dod-is-centralizing-space-acquisition-but-still-has-bugs-to-work-out/

November 17, 2020 By cs

DoD’s Space Development Agency shows how fast the FAR can be

When it came time for the brand new DoD modernization organization charged with rapidly innovating in the space domain to award one of its first big contracts, you might expect they’d turn to a new, en-vogue acquisition mechanism like other transaction agreements (OTA) or middle-tier acquisition.

If so, you’d be wrong.

DoD’s new Space Development Agency is showing that the boring old processes embedded in the Federal Acquisition Regulation don’t have to be synonymous with slowness. Late last month, SDA awarded a somewhat complex systems integration contract to help build the first elements of a brand new architecture of low-Earth orbit satellites. The total time from final request for proposals to contract award: three-and-half months.

“There was nothing magic about our contracting approach. We found that the FAR is actually quite flexible and useful to get things done,” Ryan Frigm, SDA’s deputy director said in an interview for Federal News Network’s On DoD. “The reason we were able to be successful is because we have a very talented, dedicated and motivated team that shares a singular focus, which is being the department’s constructive disrupter for space. And the team knows that we need to get space capabilities out to the warfighter at the speed of need.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/on-dod/2020/11/dods-space-development-agency-shows-how-fast-the-far-can-be/

May 1, 2019 By AMK

‘Space Force’ windfall unclear for eager defense companies

As the Pentagon reorganizes its oversight of space and figures out the right mix of its future satellites, a similar transformation is going on with companies who build the spacecraft, rockets, and technology the Defense Department seeks.

Traditional large defense firms and small commercial startups are watching closely to see whether Congress will approve the Trump administration plan to create a Space Force, a new sixth branch of the military, and how the new Space Development Agency plans to create a web of hundreds of new military satellites in low-earth orbit.

“We’re in a really critical transitional time, it’s very transformational for something that we all know that we all feel every day,” Bill Gattle, president of Harris Corporation’s Space and Intelligence Systems segment, said in an interview at the Space Symposium, a trade show of military, civilian and commercial space professionals. “It’s changing pretty radically.”

Pentagon efforts to develop new satellite constellations are fragmented, however, and there remains a debate about what kinds of satellites the military should use. In recent years, there have been warnings that China and Russia are building weapons that could shoot down, jam, or hack the Pentagon’s larger navigation, communications, missile warning, and weather satellites. Those intelligence predictions have prompted a call for smaller and cheaper satellites that are closer to Earth and could serve as backups to the larger satellites in higher orbits.

Keep reading article at: https://www.defenseone.com/business/2019/04/defense-companies-already-preparing-space-force-windfall/156234

April 1, 2019 By AMK

GAO says DoD needs to collect data on space acquisition workforce

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report indicating that the Department of Defense (DoD) does not routinely monitor the size, mix, and location of its space acquisition workforce.

However, data GAO collected and aggregated from multiple DoD space acquisition organizations show that at least 8,000 personnel in multiple locations nationwide were working on space acquisition activities at the end of 2017.

Military and civilian personnel comprise the majority of the overall workforce, while contractor and Federally Funded Research and Development Center personnel also provide support.

DoD recently announced it plans to establish a new Space Development Agency and a United States Space Command. DoD reportedly plans to spend about $65 billion from fiscal year 2019 to 2023 on space acquisition programs — including satellites, launch vehicles, ground components, and user equipment. DoD’s space acquisition personnel perform a variety of activities, such as preparing and reviewing acquisition documents, to manage or oversee programs that develop or procure space capabilities.

According to GAO, several factors hinder DOD’s ability to collect data needed for a comprehensive view of its space acquisition workforce:

DoD does not maintain a complete list of its space acquisition programs.
DoD’s workforce data systems are not configured to identify personnel working on space acquisition activities.
DoD space acquisition personnel are dispersed across organizations and some personnel support both space and non-space programs.

Without complete and accurate data, GAO believes that DoD will be unable to assess gaps in the overall capabilities of the space acquisition workforce. GAO recommends the identification of space programs and the collection of workforce data to better position DoD to ensure that the appropriate space acquisition personnel are assigned to the new Space Development Agency and the United States Space Command.

GAO also believes that comprehensive data on the space acquisition workforce would be beneficial to support DoD’s efforts related to its recent legislative proposal regarding the establishment of the United States Space Force.

Read GAO’s full report here: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697574.pdf

The Air Force is reorganizing its space acquisition office to better support the Space Force and other new space entities, but there are still questions surrounding exactly how the Pentagon will consolidate its space procurement.

When it came time for the brand new DoD modernization organization charged with rapidly innovating in the space domain to award one of its first big contracts, you might expect they’d turn to a new, en-vogue acquisition mechanism like other transaction agreements (OTA) or middle-tier acquisition.

As the Pentagon reorganizes its oversight of space and figures out the right mix of its future satellites, a similar transformation is going on with companies who build the spacecraft, rockets, and technology the Defense Department seeks.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report indicating that the Department of Defense (DoD) does not routinely monitor the size, mix, and location of its space acquisition workforce.

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