7.11. Space Mission Architectures
7.11. Space Mission Architectures
Implementation of space capabilities through space system acquisitions will be guided by an associated space mission architecture(s). Space mission architectures will be used to inform requirements validation, resourcing and the budget build process, policy, and key milestone acquisition decisions. Integration into the requirements, resourcing/budget, and policy processes will be accomplished through the governing documents for those processes. Space acquisition decisions and the resulting development programs will be evaluated at several points during the acquisition process against their associated space mission architecture(s) as a means to demonstrate added mission value to the warfighter and nation. Acceptable interoperability with other elements of the architecture, resilience, compliance with any governing policies of the architecture, and identification and mitigation of impacts resulting from unintended consequences of integration into the architecture shall also be demonstrated as well as impacts to other space and non-space related DoD mission architectures.
The purpose of developing and maintaining a space mission architecture is to have an authoritative baseline by which the Department can judge investment, cost-benefit, resilience, or operational decisions, and thereby make the best informed resourcing and acquisition decisions possible. There are two basic architectures that are widely recognized as adding value to the decision processes associated with requirements, resourcing, policy, and acquisition. The first is an “As-Is” architecture which represents the physical instantiation or schematic of a space mission area as it appears at the current time. Because architectures constantly evolve as new elements are added or older elements are upgraded, the As-Is architecture represents a snap-shot in time to support the immediate decision being made. The other widely used architecture is a “To-Be” architecture which represents how the architecture is expected to look and perform in the near term. The “To-Be” architecture is usually based upon funded initiatives within the most recent program review; but for acquisition decisions, should support analysis of the acquisition decision(s) under consideration. It also evolves with the completion of each budget cycle as outyear plans are refined. The To-Be architecture informs the general direction in which DoD desires to proceed with a collection of mission area capabilities. Additional architecture excursions may be explored to support the annual program review or complex acquisition analyses.
A space mission architecture will be used by the MDA as the baseline or gold standard of performance attributes of a mission capability to aid in key decisions regarding new or improved capabilities. The architecture serves as one of many sources of information that will be available to inform deliberations at milestone reviews, and uniquely provides the overarching strategic viewpoint to ensure introduction of new capability will support the global joint warfighter with performance against approved requirements, and result in a high degree of interoperability with other elements of the architecture. The MDA will need to understand important items such as the progress that the anticipated space system provides in moving from the As-Is toward its contribution to the To-Be (in light of other parallel efforts reflected within the architecture), the performance and capability benefits to end users, remaining gaps and shortfalls, secondary impacts to other users, alignment with the goals of the National Security Space Strategy, and the implications to health and welfare of the supporting industrial base. Likewise, the MDA will use the space mission architecture to ensure that inserting new capabilities is not disruptive; generate unnecessary costs of sustainment, or any other unintentional consequence that would necessitate an unanticipated expenditure of resources.
A formal assessment of a system and its relationship, value, functions, contributions, performance, and impacts to an associated baseline space mission architecture will be integral to the deliberations of key acquisition decisions and milestone (MS) reviews, specifically including the Materiel Development Decision and, MS A, MS B, and MS C. For all other DAB meetings, the latest approved space mission architecture assessment should be available as part of a read-ahead package to the MDA and DAB participants. The assessment of space system performance, et al, against the associated mission architecture will vary in degree of depth depending on the level of development information available during the acquisition process. The most stringent assessment can be expected to occur at MS B as part of the decision to commit significant resources to the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase. For space system capability development, the architecture assessment for the MDA will be prepared and delivered jointly by (1) the Office responsible for the associated mission architecture(s), (2) the applicable Principal Staff Assistant(s) (PSAs), (3) the Joint Staff, and (4) Office of the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (ODCAPE), and will include all contributing domains to the mission area (space, air, ground, maritime, cyber, etc.) This joint assessment will be led by the PSA and is meant to be an independent, unbiased analysis; however, its development should include input from the Program Management Office to ensure the proposed space system attributes are accurately represented. Dedicated participation by offices responsible for other mission area architectures that are related to, or impacted by, the proposed space system should also actively participate and achieve a common level of understanding of the architecture assessment. For key milestone reviews, or other events as directed, that will include an Independent Program Assessment (IPA) of the acquisition program by a separate team of experts, the IPA team will be thoroughly briefed on the space mission architecture assessment jointly by the responsible office, applicable PSA, Executive Agent (EA) for Space, Joint Staff, and ODCAPE, and then perform their own review and judgment for the MDA.
The offices responsible for development, maintenance, and content of the As-Is and To-Be architectures will be the EA of the Department of Defense for the mission areas to which they have been assigned. The EA for Space is responsible for maintaining architectures associated with space systems and space missions. For those mission areas without an EA, such as communications, PNT, etc., the Principle Staff Assistant will serve as the responsible party for the architecture. The content of a space mission architecture should include, but not be limited to, a comprehensive schematic (detailed picture) of the architecture physical elements, space components, ground components, data flow between components, interface specifications both internal and external to the boundary of the architecture, performance specifications, logistics support, and communication protocols, etc. Validation of each DoD mission area architecture from a requirements perspective will be the responsibility of the Joint Staff, and will ultimately be validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council as comprehensive and necessary in meeting the needs of the warfighter. Validation of architectures will also be accomplished from an acquisition, requirements, resourcing and policy perspective. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology & Logistics) (USD(AT&L)) will validate that architecture updates are consistent with MDA decisions, ODCAPE will validate that architectures are affordable and consistent with assigned funding by the Department, and USD(Policy) will validate that architectures are in compliance with current policy, respectively. When there is a mission architecture that does not receive validation from one of more of these sources, it is incumbent upon the office responsible for the mission architecture to assemble a joint session between requirements, acquisition, resourcing, and policy to develop a refined architecture that achieves unanimous validation. Conflicts between validation activities should be taken to the Defense Space Council for resolution. The timeline for subsequent revalidation of architectures will be determined jointly by the responsible offices, the Joint Staff, and ODCAPE as having changed sufficiently to warrant fresh review and validation; or at the discretion of the DEPSECDEF. Offices responsible for architecture development and maintenance should anticipate and resource for at least an annual update to their respective mission area architectures.
There may also be opportunities where space-related mission area architectures containing space systems will be called upon to support assessments of related non-space mission architectures that are the focus of acquisition of other DoD capabilities, or provide validation of the relationship and traceability of an acquisition program requirements baseline to overarching mission area architecture requirements.
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