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.
The memo states that Griffin will lead SDA’s transition to the U.S. Space Force once congressional approval is secured.
Griffin, a 2019 Wash100 winner, tapped Fred Kennedy, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s tactical technology office, in December to conduct a study on how to structure the new agency.
Sources said SDA would have the authority over the development of architectures of future space platforms and would set its sights on systems engineering to facilitate the integration of commercial tech platforms into military programs, according to the report.
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