The final week of October was a busy one for the realm of “space,” as the Department of Defense (DOD), as directed by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20), established the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy (ASD(SP)) along with the Office of the ASD(SP).
This senior official, who will be under the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)), will be responsible for the overall supervision of DoD policy for space warfighting. In addition, the ASD(SP) will be responsible for interagency coordination as well as international engagement on space policy and strategy.
“The Department of Defense continues the most significant transformation in the history of the U.S. national security space program,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist. “The establishment of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy is a change of the civilian oversight of the space enterprise that aligns with the establishment of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command.”
While this is a new position, Justin Johnson has already been designated as the official performing the duties of the ASD(SP), until such time as an individual is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and appointed to the position. Gregory Pejic has been designated to serve as the Principal Deputy ASD(SP) until an individual is appointed to the position.
In 2019, the DoD and the United States government elevated two military organizations for space. That change in civilian oversight had continued to bring focus to long-term strategic competition, as outlined in the National Defense Strategy and the Lines of Effort outlined in the Defense Space Strategy.
Calls for Changes in Security Clearance Policies
The ASD(SP) could already have an issue to resolve, as the National Security Space Association – the industry trade group that represents U.S. defense and intelligence contractor – has called for a change in the security clearance polices. NSSA issued a white paper – Establish Governance and Align Security Policies and Programs to Enable U.S. National Security Space Missions – which called for reforms in “space security policy, practices and governance.”
The paper called for the creation of an executive-level security position for the defense space program, who could report to the United States Space Force’s (USSF’s) Chief of Space Operations or the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition. It is possible this role could be filled by the Office of the ASD(SP).
Among the reforms called for in the white paper was the establishing of reciprocity for access and security between the DoD and the intelligence community (IC). The paper suggested, “Legislation or executive-level agreements between the DoD and the IC should be put in place to facilitate the joint-use and co-use of facilities, SCI personnel accesses, secure networks, communications, and clearance adjudication decisions.”
The NSSA also warned that smaller companies, new entrants, and purely commercial companies were “precluded” from competing for government business due to the fact these companies couldn’t obtain access or accreditation of facilities to know of or respond to classified requests for proposals.
“A company may have an unclassified product, for example, that is used on numerous classified programs with classified data,” the paper said. “The cleared contractor support personnel have great difficulty maintaining their clearances or cleared workspace because the rules demand that a classified contract be put in place when a classified contract is not required.”
This creates unnecessary challenges for businesses, while the U.S. government is essentially “denying itself” access to new ideas, technology, capabilities, and applications.
“It is imperative to establish governance and align security policies and programs to enable, rather than impede, U.S. national security space missions,” the paper added. “Governance must ensure proper and consistently applied classification and security services must provide appropriate safeguards while supporting acquisition speed, operational agility, and mission effectiveness.”
The NSSA also called for the U.S. government to adjust security to enable industry contractors to align their technologies, capabilities, planning, and investment with the United States Space Force.
