Space Acquisition - Air Force Space Command

Senior Leader Perspective
Air Force Space Acquisition
Mr. Gary E. Payton
Deputy Under Secretary
Air Force for Space Programs
Pentagon, Washington DC
Air Force weapon system acquisition over the past 15
years has been faced with exceptional challenges. Reeling
from acquisition reform of the 1990s, the drawdown of our
military, and the consolidation of the aerospace industrial base,
we continue to adapt to the changing landscape, and work to
deliver the best Air Force capability the world has ever known.
Challenges unique to acquisition of space systems are further
exacerbated by the harsh space environment where systems are
expected to survive for a decade or more with no opportunity for
routine maintenance or physical modifications. As a result, we
must design, engineer, test, and launch even the first article as
an operational asset. Additionally, unique management and cost
control concerns arise because over 70 percent of the total life
cycle cost for a space system occurs early during the development
and build phase, as compared to 30 percent for non-space
programs. Space systems never go beyond low rate initial production;
therefore, costs must be allocated over a small number
of systems with limited opportunity to apply a learning curve to
improve subsequent builds. Over the past 40 years our space
acquisition community has worked to navigate these challenges
while providing continuity of mission for key capabilities
in missile warning, communication, navigation, weather, and
launch. Continuity of our key space missions is now as important
as modernization. For example, we recently launched two
Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites, with each WGS
satellite providing the equivalent capacity of the entire legacy
Defense Satellite Communications System constellation it is
replenishing. However, even with a full complement of WGS
satellites, we will continue to rely on commercial SATCOM
to heavily supplement the need for wideband, long haul communications.
In addition, over the next 18-24 months we will
be delivering four “first of” satellites to maintain continuity of
service in other mission areas with Space-Based Space Surveillance,
GPS IIF, Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)
SATCOM, and Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous.
Finally, for our next generation of space capabilities, we have
re-instituted a ‘Back to Basics’ space acquisition strategy.
Back to Basics
‘Back to Basics’ is a comprehensive strategy to address criticisms
for “over-reaching” on space programs. By that I mean
pursuing programs that are a giant leap in capability, and failing
to deliver in a timely manner. Through ‘Back to Basics’ we
have focused on fundamental areas: mission success through
clear and achievable requirements, disciplined systems engineering,
proven technology, and appropriate resourcing. Proper
program execution depends on stable requirements, and realistic
funding based on rigorous cost estimates.
One of the important practices we have embraced within
‘Back to Basics’ is a block approach to delivering satellites and
their ground systems. This block approach is used to distribute
risk across the entire life cycle of a program, and avoid the “all
or nothing” scenario of a single delivery for an entire system
after years of research and development investment. This approach
permits more timely delivery of incremental capabilities
to the warfighter. For example, we parsed the GPS III development
into distinct blocks, and will deliver incrementally greater
capability as key technologies are matured. The first block will
baseline the bus configuration for all GPS III satellites, increase
signal power, and add a civil signal. Future blocks will add
cross-links to improve accuracy, integrity, and real-time communications
with the constellation, and a high power spot beam
to improve anti-jam and navigation warfare capabilities.
We are also applying the ‘Back to Basics’ philosophy by conducting
technology maturation efforts ahead of the satellite fullscale
development. The Third Generation Infrared Surveillance
(3GIRS) program is developing wide field of view (WFOV)
Infrared sensor technology to increase capability with reduced
design complexity. 3GIRS employs competing prototypes and
commercial ride share opportunities to mature technologies prior
to initiating an acquisition program using WFOV technology.
The 3GIRS commercially hosted infrared payload demonstration,
launching in 2010, is an example where we take advantage
of pre-existing weight and power margin on a commercial communications
satellite in the timeframe we needed, at a fraction
of the cost of a dedicated government satellite/booster.
While we have benefitted tremendously from our ‘Back to
Basics’ strategy, we are committed to recapturing acquisition
excellence by rebuilding the Air Force acquisition culture that
delivers products and services as promised—on time, within
budget, and in compliance with all laws, policies, and regulations.
Earlier this year the Air Force developed an Acquisition
Improvement Plan (AIP) to serve as our strategic framework to
address many of the lessons learned from past shortfalls in our
procurement processes. The plan focuses on revitalizing the
acquisition workforce; improving the requirements generation
process; instilling budget and financial discipline; improving
major systems source selection; and establishing clear lines of
authority and accountability within acquisition organizations.
Recent legislation, the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform
Act of 2009, reinforces the Air Force AIP through added rigor
in cost estimation; technology maturity assessments; appropriate
alignment of milestone and technical reviews, ensuring
trade-offs between cost, schedule, and performance are part of
the requirements process; and instituting acquisition workforce
recognition programs.
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