Tag Archives: Space Force

Acting Defense Secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Patrick Shanahan officially unveiled the new space development agency, CNN reported Wednesday. Fred Kennedy, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s tactical technology office, will lead the agency as part of the proposed space force, according to a copy of Shanahan’s memo obtained by the publication.

Will Roper, assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, told Wired in an interview published on Sunday about the service’s upcoming pitch day in New York and how it plans to set up contracts for startups within a day through credit card-based awards. “We’re going to start doing awards at $158,000 per transaction,” said Roper, a 2019 Wash100 winner.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan submitted the department's strategy for establishing Space Force as a standalone military branch to Congress, Space News reported Thursday. The legislative proposal was emailed to the House and Senate  Appropriations defense subcommittees and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

The U.S. Air Force secretary is assuming the responsibility of procuring commercial satellite communications services as part of the move to create a Space Force, Space News reported Monday. The Space Force’s establishment would lead to the termination of the Air Force Space Command, which is responsible to acquire satcom services for the Department of Defense.

The Pentagon wants to transfer personnel, programs and other resources from the armed forces to the proposed Space Force once it's created under the Department of the Air Force, SpaceNews reported Thursday. The Department of Defense plans to request for Congress to grant the secretary of defense “special temporary authorities” to supply the new service the resources and workforce it would need to begin initial operations.

President Trump signed a new directive to establish the new U.S. Space Force as the sixth military branch within the Department of the Air Force. The fourth space policy directive published Tuesday says the secretary of the Department of Defense should submit to the Office of Management and Budget a legislative proposal creating the Space Force.

The Department of Defense is seeking $270M in funds for fiscal year 2020 to establish the Space Development Agency, U.S. Space Command and headquarters for the new Space Force, SpaceNews reported Monday. DoD will request $120M for the Space Development Agency, $84M for the new combatant command and $64M for the new headquarters, according to a draft memo obtained by the publication. 

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the Pentagon has selected the official to lead the U.S. Space Command, Inside Defense reported Tuesday. The secretary declined to name the person and noted the Department of Defense is still working on the process to re-establish the command. 

President Trump is expected to sign a draft space policy directive in the coming weeks to establish the Space Force within the Department of the Air Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces, SpaceNews reported Monday. The Department of Defense noted the new service would only operate temporarily under the same department with the Air Force.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has issued a memo directing Michael Griffin, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, to submit by March 1 a plan to establish a new space development agency, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. Griffin’s office will oversee the new agency, which is expected to be set up no later than March 29, according to the Jan. 19 memo initially reported by Inside Defense.