A priority of the United States Space Force (USSF) is to improve vertical and horizontal integration and synchronization of space capabilities. To assist with this priority, the authors of this research defined existing challenges and recommended ways that USSF can facilitate the integration and synchronization of space acquisition and fielding to support the timely delivery of end-to-end space capabilities to the joint force.

Improving Integration and Synchronization of Space Acquisition and Fielding

Bonnie L. Triezenberg, William Shelton, Megan McKernan, Sarah W. Denton, James Dimarogonas, Brian Dolan, Shane Manuel, Gwen Mazzotta, Sydne J. Newberry, Laurinda L. Rohn, et al.

ResearchPublished Aug 31, 2023

As the newest service in the Armed Forces, one of the key goals of the United States Space Force (USSF) is to accelerate delivery of space capabilities to outpace adversary threats. However, delivering end‐to‐end space capability requires the integration and synchronization of multiple elements, the development and fielding of which are managed not just by the Department of the Air Force but also by other military departments and federal agencies.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ) has stated that improving the integration and synchronization of the delivery of space capabilities is a priority. To assist with this priority, the RAND Corporation’s Project AIR FORCE identified existing challenges and recommended ways that USSF can facilitate the integration and synchronization of space acquisition and fielding to support the timely delivery of end-to-end space capabilities to the Joint Force. This research expanded beyond integration, including any actions USSF could take that would lead to fielding more-timely, integrated, and synchronized warfighter capabilities.

To do this, the research team explored the question from overlapping vantage points that included the stakeholder, operator, and acquisition communities. This included a broad literature review of existing research on U.S. government space‐affiliated organizations; more than 60 semistructured interviews of subject-matter experts and senior decisionmakers throughout the Department of Defense, other federal government agencies, and the private sector; and the creation of a visual map of approximately 90 different stakeholders in USSF acquisition and the relationships among them.

Key Findings

  • Budget instability at the program level and overall budget inflexibility make it difficult to execute and deliver integrated and synchronized capabilities.
  • USSF’s ability to orchestrate and deliver a resilient and interoperable space architecture is unclear.
  • Internal USSF organizations do not appear to be aligned and communication channels are adversely affected.
  • Significant experimentation is ongoing within multiple organizations devoted to innovation, but this experimentation is not visible centrally or across organizations.
  • USSF needs to harness and transition the outcomes of experiments and innovation into programs of record or into operations.

Recommendations

  • Create resource-loaded roadmaps of mission capability architectures and conduct sensitivity analyses to understand and prepare for the impacts of budget actions.
  • Implement a cultural change that values more open communication with Congress and builds alignment across USSF, the Department of the Air Force, the Pentagon, and the greater U.S. space enterprise.
  • Define what constitutes architecture and use these definitions to document USSF mission statements and charters.
  • Educate the USSF workforce on architecture vision, definitions, responsible offices, and the relationships among systems and missions within the architecture.
  • Clarify the Space Warfighting Analysis Center and Space Systems Integration Office's roles in defining system of systems architecture and in advising the Service Acquisition Executive and their staff.
  • Conduct a workforce study to determine how to create and sustain organic system-of-systems and systems engineering expertise.
  • Formalize and approve USSF mission statements and charters.
  • Harmonize USSF functional constructs to the extent reasonable and standardize mission area terminology.
  • Require organizations involved in space acquisition to improve visibility into their efforts.
  • Implement a cultural change that values enterprise and mission success over personal or individual program success.
  • Create a clear vision between acquisition and user communities as to how and when technologies should be integrated into the broader capability architecture.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2023
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 114
  • Paperback Price: $37.50
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-1209-6
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA1735-1
  • Document Number: RR-A1735-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Triezenberg, Bonnie L., William Shelton, Megan McKernan, Sarah W. Denton, James Dimarogonas, Brian Dolan, Shane Manuel, Gwen Mazzotta, Sydne J. Newberry, Laurinda L. Rohn, Karen Schwindt, Yuliya Shokh, and Jordan Willcox, Improving Integration and Synchronization of Space Acquisition and Fielding, RAND Corporation, RR-A1735-1, 2023. As of May 1, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1735-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Triezenberg, Bonnie L., William Shelton, Megan McKernan, Sarah W. Denton, James Dimarogonas, Brian Dolan, Shane Manuel, Gwen Mazzotta, Sydne J. Newberry, Laurinda L. Rohn, Karen Schwindt, Yuliya Shokh, and Jordan Willcox, Improving Integration and Synchronization of Space Acquisition and Fielding. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1735-1.html. Also available in print form.
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The research reported here was commissioned by the U.S. Space Force, SAF/SQ, and conducted within the Resource Management Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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