Yool Kim

To achieve its core mission set and in the face of the rapid development of potential adversary capabilities in space, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) needs to fundamentally rethink how it defines requirements. To support this necessary transformation, the authors identify implementable changes to USSF capability requirements development that leverage best practices in requirements development and digital engineering.

The expanding commercial space industry offers new opportunities--such as technological advances, lower launch costs, and innovative satellite applications--that could help the U.S. military meet mission requirements more efficiently. RAND researchers evaluated two commercial space markets to understand opportunities and risks that the Department of the Air Force could encounter when making decisions to invest in commercial space capabilities.

As the U.S. Space Force (USSF) pursues rapid acquisition of warfighting capabilities, a key question is whether the streamlining techniques being used to get new space systems to operators quickly create mission assurance vulnerabilities. The authors of this report examine the techniques being used to accelerate USSF acquisition, the risks associated with them, their potential impact on mission assurance, and the possible mitigations.

As the commercial space industry continues to grow in capability, capacity, and diversity, opportunities for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and the U.S. Department of Defense to leverage commercial space capabilities are expanding. In this review of commercial space capabilities that could support the USSF's future space architecture and innovation ecosystem, the authors characterize capabilities and trends in the commercial market through mid-2020.

To address concerns that warfare could extend to space, the national security space community has taken steps to enhance space mission assurance (SMA), leading to an increasing demand for assessments of SMA. The authors describe decisionmaker needs for assessments of SMA, challenges for conducting assessments, the shortfalls that may result from the challenges, and options for addressing the shortfalls.

The United States newest military service, the U.S. Space Force (USSF), has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the widening range of commercial capabilities and create a new culture and new management processes to respond to the growing challenges presented by potential adversaries in space. The authors describe an unconstrained ?clean sheet? approach to space acquisition for USSF designed around the new service's unique mission.

The Space Enterprise Vision (SEV) describes an integrated approach to building a force across space mission areas. Achieving this vision requires reducing acquisition time lines and improving integration of the space enterprise. The research team examined potential acquisition approaches to support SEV and identified several promising ones that merit in-depth examination: modular open system architectures, agile acquisition, rapid prototyping.

The average age of aircraft in the U.S. Air Force is 22, making aging an increasing concern. The Air Force program responsible for maintaining the structural safety of its aircraft faces challenges, however, such as budgetary pressures, regulations, and communication issues. The authors sought insights on these issues by comparing similar programs in other services. Their observations suggest the value of clear policies, independent assessments, standard metrics, and open and clear communication.