Space News:
WASHINGTON — Military space programs that are just getting off the ground and are targets for use of commercial technologies might end up in the portfolio of a new DoD agency that could be up and running in early 2019.
The Space Development Agency is a high priority of Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin. Both have been critical of the sluggish pace of innovation in military space programs and have argued that a brand new agency, untethered from the traditional procurement process, is the answer.
Shanahan unveiled a proposal in August that lists the Space Development Agency as one of several reorganization efforts that are part of a broader plan to form a new military branch for space. Both Shanahan and Griffin see the SDA as an urgent need that should not wait until Congress decides whether to establish a Space Force.
