Undersecretary of the Air Force Peter B. Teets and Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, Space and Missile Systems Center commander, testified before members of the strategic forces subcommittee.

"When I first took this job almost two years ago, I recognized we had problems with national security space acquisitions," Teets said. "I wanted an independent and expert review of (the process), and recommendations on how to fix any issues the review found."

Members of the Defense Science Board and Air Force Scientific Advisory Board formed a panel to look into the process, Teets said.

"According to the study, mission success should be the guiding principle in all space systems acquisitions," Teets said.

The new policy, NSS 03-01, specifically states mission success as the No. 1 principle behind all NSS programs, and all program activities must be driven by that objective, Teets said.

Several of the panel's recommendations dealt with cost estimation and program budgeting practices, Teets said. In response, the new policy requires an independent cost analysis to be conducted before each key decision point in the process.

The purpose of the assessment is to identify and quantify program risk areas and to advise the milestone-decision authority on a program's readiness to move to the next acquisition phase, Teets said.

Another recommendation focused on earlier reporting of problems, Teets said.

"In our research behind (the new policy), we found that space programs have a different funding curve than most typical (Department of Defense) weapons systems," Teets said. "A space-based system spends most of its budget up front, well before deployment, and spends a great deal less on the sustainment phase of the life cycle."

To solve this problem, Teets said big decisions need to be made earlier in the life cycle of the program, before the majority of the money is spent.

"(The new policy) moves the key decision points up for this very reason," Teets said. "Early identification allows us to take timely corrective action.

Arnold addressed other points raised, and what Air Force officials are doing to correct problems.

"Defense Science Board (members) also commented on the erosion of government capabilities to lead and manage the space-acquisition process," Arnold said.

To fix this, Air Force officials focused on professional development in key areas of the space-acquisition business, Arnold said. This is being done through partnerships with universities and industry to revitalize systems engineering proficiency at the Space and Missile Center.

"(These) changes are not easy, they require a long-term commitment, and in many cases, we are changing things midcourse," Arnold said. "We have a large number of programs in the development pipeline where decisions have already been made. We are imposing a new management discipline, but we need your support as we work through the challenges that lie ahead."

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