Air Force taps Rapid Capabilities Office deputy as acting SDA chief
New acting SDA head William Blauser, who came to Air Force RCO last July from Systems Technology and Research LLC in Arlington, Va., has had a long career in Defense Department acquisition, including of space systems at the National Reconnaissance Office.
The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office is charged with speeding new capabilities to the field, such as the X-37B reusable space plane (Courtesy graphic by Boeing Space)
WASHINGTON — The Air Force today announced that William Blauser, deputy head of the department’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), has been appointed acting director of the Space Development Agency. The move comes in the wake of the Jan. 16 decision by the Air Force to place permanent director Derek Tournear on administrative leave.
Blauser is taking over the acting role from Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of the Space Force’s primary acquisition command Space Systems Command.
“Given the importance of space acquisition programs, both the Space Development Agency and Space Systems Command require full-time leadership, and the Department of the Air Force has named Mr. Blauser as SDA’s new acting director,” the Air Force statement explained.
Blauser, who came to Air Force RCO last July from Systems Technology and Research LLC in Arlington, Va., has had a long career in Defense Department acquisition, including of space systems at the National Reconnaissance Office. RCO is responsible for rapidly acquiring and fielding critical new weapon systems based on cutting-edge technologies, such as the X37B reusable spaceplane, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
SDA directors are appointed by the DoD secretary, but do not require Senate confirmation. Tournear was appointed as the first permanent director in October 2019, when the agency was still under the purview of the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Research and Engineering. On Oct. 1, 2022 as mandated by Congress, the agency was transferred to the Department of the Air Force under the first-ever Senior Acquisition Executive for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli.
The Air Force continues to refuse comment on the reason Tournear was placed on administrative leave — a decision made by Calvelli and approved by then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. However, as Breaking Defense was first to report, the issue being investigated by the department’s Office of the Inspector General is related to Tournear’s actions in the run up to an SDA grant award now under protest by Viasat.
According to a Jan. 4, 2024 Department of the Air Force guidance document (DAF Instruction 90-301, PDF), such investigations have a deadline of 150 days for completion, pending any “extraordinary circumstances” or the need for higher-level DoD IG review. An Air force spokesperson today declined to comment on the rules regarding the investigation or the timeline for its likely conclusion.
Meanwhile, Viasat’s September protest against two SDA prototypes awards worth approximately $424 million for 20 total (10 each) Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) – Gamma variant prototype space vehicles to York Space Systems and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems in the US Court of Federal Claims has yet to be resolved, according to court documents.
Under the case, DoD and SDA admitted to a need for “corrective action” and initially offered to remediate Viasat’s complaints by halting work on both rewards pending a review. Updates to that initial offer have been placed under seal, but several industry sources have told Breaking Defense that while Tyvak’s work has been halted, York’s has not and instead the company is continuing toward preliminary design review of its 10 prototypes.
Interestingly, Tyvak’s corporate parent Lockheed Martin on Jan. 30 filed a request to be given access to the court documents under seal. Lockheed Martin bought Tyvak’s former parent Terran Orbital in October 2024.
“It is our standard practice to ensure appropriate legal counsel is involved throughout the process,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said.
York, too, has requested access to the sealed documents.
“York believes it is in everyone’s interest for the redacted determination and findings PIA to be made public. This has already been requested,” a company spokesperson told Breaking Defense today.
Michael Marrow contributed to this report.
This story was updated 02/05/2025 at 4:42 pm EST to include a statement from York; and 02/06/2025 at 11:30 am to include a statement from Lockheed Martin.
