All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Critics highlight that the Department of Defense has not explained the functions of the Space Development Agency or its relationship with existing space procurement organizations.
Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan expects the new Space Development Agency to be in place in the first quarter of 2019.
Budget analyst Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies did not include the Space Development Agency in his cost estimates for a Space Force due to unclear agency functions.
Shanahan stated that the Department of Defense has made leveraging commercial technology too complicated, and the Space Development Agency would simplify this process.
Shanahan emphasized that the primary goal of the Space Development Agency is to field capabilities rather than dictate architectures or standards.
In September, Shanahan announced that the Space Development Agency will support rapid product development.
Shanahan has articulated many potential missions for the Space Development Agency, yet many questions remain unanswered about its necessity.
Shanahan claimed that the Space Development Agency would drive standards and integration.
One goal of the Space Development Agency is to perform systems engineering to help integrate commercial and military communications networks.
The Pentagon is moving to establish a U.S. Space Command and a Space Development Agency in early 2019.
Proponents of the Space Development Agency appeared focused on creating a new acquisition organization rather than bringing better business practices to the Department of Defense.
The proposed Space Development Agency would move to the Space Force if Congress approves creating a new service.
The Pentagon has recommended standing up a new Space Development Agency to take over development of next-generation space systems and work more closely with the commercial space industry.
Casino is a project that could be placed in the Space Development Agency’s portfolio, creating uncertainty about how much the Air Force would invest.
The Space Force is part of a broader reorganization of U.S. military space capabilities that includes reestablishing U.S. Space Command and creating a Space Development Agency to handle space acquisition.
The Space Development Agency is intended to provide systems engineering across DoD space activities and establish department-wide standards and commonality.
The Pentagon has recommended establishing a Space Development Agency to focus on technology procurement and delivering systems to combat forces more rapidly than the traditional system.
Once SPD-4 is signed, the Department of Defense would have 30 days to identify the resources to establish Space Force components and 45 days to develop an operating model and structure for the Space Development Agency.
The draft SPD-4 directs the Pentagon to form a Space Development Agency in fiscal year 2019 and specifies that the SDA would be organized under the Department of Defense until the Department of the Space Force is formed.
Shanahan suggests that having an organization like the Space Development Agency could accelerate access to advanced space capabilities.