{"id":29142,"date":"2021-08-24T19:43:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T19:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:03:18","slug":"air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, in remarks Tuesday at the Space Foundation\u2019s annual Space Symposium, laid out changes he is setting in motion to flesh out the space acquisition enterprise as the Space Force nears its second birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past few years, Congress and the Defense Department have worked together to stand up a new military service focused on space and to overhaul how the Pentagon buys and deploys space software and hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy approach to any reorganization is to move quickly to get the big parts right, but be prepared to make adjustments as one learns from experience,\u201d Kendall said in a keynote at the conference in Colorado Springs. \u201cOne area in which we have not done enough yet is in the acquisition capacity of the Department of the Air Force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/08\/17\/the-new-air-force-secretary-wants-to-scare-china\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6755470.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The new US Air Force secretary wants to \u2018scare China\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Less than three weeks into his term as Air Force secretary, Frank Kendall has big plans for the service.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kendall is compiling a shortlist of potential candidates to serve as assistant secretary of the Air Force for space integration and acquisition, a new role created by Congress in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He didn\u2019t reveal any names under consideration, but said he is actively looking for candidates to present to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden. An announcement could come in the \u201cnot-too-distant future,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy vision for this position is that it should be largely a typical managerial role that combines the traditional acquisition responsibilities with broader responsibilities for technical integration with space systems across the board, including with non-space systems in the [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/08\/19\/new-us-air-force-secretary-to-shake-up-advanced-battle-management-program\/\" target=\"_blank\">Advanced Battle Management System<\/a> and Joint All-Domain Command and Control] environments,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cWhat we\u2019d like to call architecture definition, interface specification, open systems direction and technical interoperability requirements would be a key part of this individual\u2019s responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shawn Barnes, a retired Air Force colonel who spent most of his career in space operations, has filled in as the acting assistant secretary so far. Barnes is leaving for a different leadership position in the Air Force, Kendall said, and Brig. Gen. Steve Whitney will lead the space acquisition and integration office until someone is nominated and confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an email Tuesday, Barnes did not answer what his new job will be, but said, \u201cYou can expect that I\u2019ll stay fully engaged supporting the secretary and both chiefs to sustain and improve some critical relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whitney currently serves as space programs director in the Air Force acquisition branch and will become the acquisition and integration office\u2019s military deputy once a civilian assistant secretary is in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Discussions about the new assistant secretary position have sometimes been fraught \u2014 for example, former Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper publicly opposed splitting air and space work between two officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2020\/07\/30\/air-force-moves-to-enact-space-acquisition-reforms-despite-hold-up-of-legislative-proposals\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/46770931054_007f174377_o.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force moves to enact space acquisition reforms, despite hold up of legislative proposals<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">While a report outlining reforms to how the military buys space systems has been held up by the Office of Management and Budget, the Air Force is planning to move forward with changes that don&#039;t require legislative input.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the meantime, Kendall is moving the space directorate from the Air Force\u2019s acquisition branch to the space acquisition and integration office \u2014 now known as SAF\/SQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor major acquisition decisions in the near term, SQ will report to Darlene Costello, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cShe will be the acquisition executive for space systems until that role shifts to the new assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By law, that handoff will begin in October 2022. But Kendall indicated the Air Force is lobbying to push that date earlier: \u201cWe are hopeful that Congress will give us the option to move more quickly in this year\u2019s authorization bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">International space programs will move under the Department of the Air Force\u2019s international affairs office, while the technical aspects of international systems interoperability will still reside in the acquisition office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Kendall works on the internal reorganization, he is also turning his attention to bringing the Space Development Agency into the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SDA is a high-level group under the Pentagon research and engineering boss that wants to create a constellation of thousands of low-cost, replaceable satellites for missions like missile warning and combat data-sharing. That\u2019s slated to join the Space Force as part of the service\u2019s broader acquisition ecosystem starting in October 2022 as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2021\/08\/13\/space-force-establishes-space-systems-command\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2021-08-13-1.32.59-PM.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Space Force establishes Space Systems Command<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Space Systems Command is the second of three planned field commands, and it will be in charge of acquiring most of the Space Force&#039;s systems.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agency will not become part of the Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command, the successor to the Air Force\u2019s Space and Missile Systems Center. It will instead directly report to the chief of space operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To smooth the transition, Kendall said he is partnering with Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu on a working group that will plan for and speed up the process. They plan to co-chair quarterly meetings to review those plans and address any issues that arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An SDA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a query Tuesday on the working group or whether Derek Tournear, the agency\u2019s director, will follow it to the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to step [cooperation] up a notch as we move closer,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cWhile SDA may not yet formally be part of the Department of Air Force, there is no reason why we shouldn\u2019t begin to move aggressively in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":65692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[75,160,29,162,163,36,23,102],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3484],"class_list":["post-29142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air-force-association","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-digital-show-daily","category-military-space-report","category-newsletters","category-space","category-space-symposium"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JRDFAA43YRCORDNK4OUDIZLWA4","arc_canonical_url":"\/digital-show-dailies\/space-symposium\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 842,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kendall.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Force Association\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Daily\",\n\t                \"Military Space Report\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Space\",\n\t                \"Space Symposium\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kendall.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kendall.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/kendall.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/24\\\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Space\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/space\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"space\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition - Defense News","description":"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition","og_description":"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00","author":"Rachel S. Cohen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachel S. Cohen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition","datePublished":"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/"},"wordCount":842,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kendall.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Force Association","Daily News Roundup","Digital Show Dailies","Digital Show Daily","Military Space Report","Newsletters","Space","Space Symposium"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/","name":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kendall.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-08-24T19:43:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:03:18+00:00","description":"Kendall is vetting candidates to serve as assistant Air Force secretary for space acquisition and integration.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kendall.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kendall.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/08\/24\/air-force-secretary-outlines-short-term-plan-to-shake-up-space-acquisition\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Space","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/","ad_zone":"space"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Air Force secretary outlines short-term plan to shake up space acquisition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kendall.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29142"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73693,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142\/revisions\/73693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=29142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}