Space Force finalizes design for new AQ command, plans to brief SECAF in coming weeks

The Space Force has finalized its plan for a new Space Systems Command and expects to start building the organization early next year.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond told reporters today the service “did the table slap” on the SSC design in the last few days and will brief it to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett in the next few weeks. The service expects to officially stand up the new organization next spring.

Raymond said the SSC organizational structure builds on work the Space and Missile Systems Center has done over the past two years to transition from stovepiped acquisition programs to a more enterprise, streamlined system aimed at fielding capabilities more quickly and efficiently.

“It builds on that,” Raymond said. “It builds some unity of effort and allows competition between disruptors and prototypers and more traditional acquisition organizations. . . . We’re excited about how this is going to materialize.”

Space Systems Command is one of three Space Force field commands the service announced earlier this year. Space Operations Command was formally established in October and Space Training and Readiness Command is slated to stand up next year.

Raymond said the SSC design focuses on enabling the service to delegate acquisition authorities down to lower levels of authority -- a shift that has already begun to happen and one that he says allows “the experts” to make key program decisions. The goal, he said, is “a very flat, lean organization with the right lines of acquisition authority to be able to support future delegations and future flexibility that we think is going to be so important.”

“We’re going to slow, and we need to put our foot on the gas pedal -- and we think this organizational structure will enable us to do that,” Raymond said.