What One Space Force General Did When We Weren’t Watching

While the rest of us have been distracted by the clickbait of commercial rockets that land themselves or venture-backed companies getting enticingly close to more responsive launch options, something far more significant has been playing in the background. The Space Force is well on its way to expanded use of commercial off-the-shelf satellites to augment and eventually replace the legacy constellations of billion-dollar behemoths. Little mention, though, has been made to the pivotal organizational changes made to the launch industry, which are arguably more impactful and carry longer term possibilities than the creation of the service itself.

Launch has become so common that even the Space Force has started to see it as a business function, rather than the elusive “rocket science” of old. In fact, the Space Force has already reorganized to see space mobility’s future for what it really is: more commercial than military.

The military’s air mobility evolved to leverage all aspects of the American aviation economy, including commercial aircraft and airlines. The Space Force appears eager to do the same for launch to transport material to and through space. By organizing launch services acquisition under Cape Canaveral’s range and operations, the Space Force now has a single two-star commander responsible for all of it. The buck now stops with its creator and first commander, Major General Stephen G. Purdy, Jr. I recently had a chance to meet with General Purdy and take a new measure of an Air Force major I had known many years ago in the Pentagon. This was the time, he reminds me, of when he grew up and disposed of the proverbial yawn-inducing “I love me walls” DC is famous for.

The son of an Air Force space colonel who worked on the first Expendable Launch Vehicle decades ago and the proud grandson of an Army chaplain, Gen. Purdy easily communicates a clear sense of where the Space Force needs go in the future, and how his small part fits into the nation’s bigger space picture. It comes naturally, he tells me, because “today’s space acquisition leaders are hopefully steeped in industry, Congress, and the Pentagon’s infamous PPBE process. To actually get things done, you need to know all of that. Space leaders often don’t get that experience, which is very important to succeed.”

The general began his career as an engineer and acquisition manager, earning increasing responsibility directing the development of launch vehicle and classified space programs. It was when he took his most recent assignment as the range commander at Cape Canaveral; however, that he could sell a new vision of the future to Space Force leadership. He could see that the entire launch business was in the middle of a complete transformation, much of it prompted by the rise of SpaceX but now in full swing with a plethora of other commercial space companies eager to explore this new Wild West. He saw that the Space Force’s transition to a hybrid space architecture for launch needed to happen faster than previously anticipated. What was needed was a leader – someone to understand deeply technical acquisitions, accelerate change, and deliver with a black belt in bureaucratic jujitsu to handle Washington’s notorious minefields.

Gen. Purdy is that leader, expertly poised to articulate a clear vision and action plan for the Space Force. He now wears “four hats… more than that actually” to get it all done. That’s four separate and distinct commands under a single two-star space general. The permanent organizational changes that led to this point now means his successors (likely to come this summer) must have a background in both engineering and business to lead this transition across the finish line.

Business and policy experience is far more valuable than time in a missile silo when it comes to decision-making for the future of space launch. The most significant change this signals is a clear-eyed recognition that the way the country has competed space launch needs to change – and fast. SpaceX paved the way for the initial commercialization of space launch years ago and a whole host of others have followed, each with their own business models, technology, and visions for the future. With the government-directed ULA Joint Venture now being auctioned off to the highest bidder, the only government directed launch system left is SLS, a favorite of the Alabama delegation – and probably no one else.

In addition to the standard provisions for EELV certified companies, the new NSSL 3.0 acquisition is now public and with real on-ramps for nearly-there commercial launch companies. The sheer number of launch companies competing to put the hundreds, and eventually thousands of Space Force satellites into orbit will guarantee a healthy marketplace with ample competition. To oversee this contracting work, guard against vendor lock and anti-trust concerns, and ensure responsive capabilities for the operating commands, an acquisition leader with both the technical chops and experience dealing with Congress and the Pentagon is essential.

Space launch was once considered the most operational of all space missions – it meant more time spent in a utility uniform than sitting behind a desk. When the privatization of the launch sector is complete in another year, many wonder when the Space Force will complete the rest of the privatization overhaul of the more suit and tie missions. The commercial companies providing solutions today in communications, weather, GPS, reconnaissance, and space traffic management are well positioned to compete and deliver off-the-shelf satellites, ground systems, and data services that the government needs.

This bold move, directed by the previous Chief of Space Operations but conceived and led by Gen. Purdy, has begun at exactly the right time. By all accounts, his transition is going very well and the pace and quality of satellite launches will only improve as competition heats up even more. It took guts for General Raymond to experiment with combining acquisition and operations into one organization and to assign a steeply technical acquisition officer to lead it. It’s a resounding success – the question that remains is how soon the new CSO, General Saltzman, will follow through for the rest of Space Force missions.