Mike Griffin, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, has said that the Defense Department should create a new agency to oversee the country’s space programs, Space News reported Sunday.
The suggestion was given in response to a Sept. 10 memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan that asked both Griffin and U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to come up with separate proposals on the establishment of the Space Development Agency.
In his proposal, Griffin recommended the formation of a Washington, D.C.-based organization staffed with 112 personnel that Griffin would oversee. However, in the future, it would be headed by an assistant secretary of defense for space.
“To disrupt our adversaries’ calculus in the space domain and deter aggression, we must first disrupt our own space community’s risk-averse culture – by relearning how to build, deploy, operate and innovate rapidly, at low cost,†Griffin stated in his memo.
He said he would beef up SDA’s tasks in implementing the “DoD Space Vision,” a plan to update military space technologies.
“Resources needed to support development of DoD’s space vision will shift from legacy organizations to SDA as soon as practical,†Griffin added.
Wilson’s plan calls for the new space agency to operate under the existing Space Rabid Capabilities Office. She said it should be a part of “existing structures†to more quickly acquire capabilities, according to the article.