WASHINGTON — A draft defense policy bill from the House Armed Services Committee is set to significantly reshape how the United States manages military space acquisition, proposing the elimination of both the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO) as standalone organizations.
The proposal is included in the House Armed Services Committee’s fiscal 2027 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is scheduled for committee debate on June 4 before advancing to the full House and later negotiations with the Senate.
Under the draft legislation, the responsibilities currently managed by SDA and Space RCO would be folded into a broader acquisition restructuring within the U.S. Space Force. The change aligns with the Pentagon’s ongoing shift toward Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs), senior officials responsible for overseeing large mission areas rather than individual programs.
SDA, established in 2019, and Space RCO, created in 2018, were originally designed to bypass traditional defense acquisition processes and accelerate the delivery of space capabilities. Both organizations have played central roles in rapidly fielding satellite constellations and experimental systems, with SDA overseeing programs such as the Transport Layer and Tracking Layer architectures.
However, the draft bill reflects a belief among some lawmakers that rapid-acquisition approaches pioneered by these offices have now become integrated across the wider Space Force acquisition enterprise. As a result, their functions would be redistributed into mission-aligned portfolios rather than maintained as separate entities.
Details of how Space RCO’s largely classified portfolio would be integrated remain unclear. Space RCO leadership has acknowledged ongoing uncertainty about how the restructuring will affect the office’s future role and structure within the new framework.
The draft legislation also signals growing congressional scrutiny of the Pentagon’s pace in adopting commercial space technologies. Lawmakers highlighted concerns that commercial space funding within the Space Force budget request has declined compared to the previous fiscal year, despite an overall increase in defense spending for space programs.
Programs such as the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) and Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TAC SRT) were specifically identified as priorities that have yet to scale at the pace envisioned by Congress. These initiatives are intended to enable the military to rapidly integrate commercial satellite communications, imaging, and space domain awareness capabilities during conflict or crisis scenarios.
While the Pentagon maintains that commercial capabilities are increasingly embedded across broader government space systems rather than procured as standalone services, lawmakers argue that dedicated funding and program growth have not kept pace with strategic goals outlined in previous defense guidance.
The bill now moves toward committee debate, setting the stage for further negotiations that will determine the final structure of U.S. military space acquisition and the future role of commercial integration within national security space programs.
