Space acquisition and NRO picks face SASC

WASHINGTON — Trump administration nominees for two influential U.S. national security space posts endorsed closer coordination between the Space Force and intelligence agencies while calling for wider use of commercial technology and faster action on acquisition programs. Erich Hernandez-Baquero, nominated to become the Air Force’s top civilian space acquisition official, and Roger Mason, the president’s choice to lead the National Reconnaissance Office, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 14. If confirmed, Hernandez-Baquero would oversee the Department of the Air Force’s space acquisition enterprise, including Space Systems Command, the Space Development Agency and a newly established group of Portfolio Acquisition Executives responsible for broad mission areas rather than individual programs. The position has been vacant since Frank Calvelli left the government in January 2025. Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy served as acting assistant secretary for the following year, before Thomas Ainsworth began performing the duties of the office in January 2026.Mason would replace Christopher Scolese, who left the NRO on July 10 after leading the intelligence agency since 2019. William Adkins, the agency’s principal deputy director, is performing the director’s duties pending confirmation of a successor. Mason appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 2. The separate hearings reflect the NRO’s status as both a Defense Department agency and an element of the U.S. intelligence community, giving the armed services and intelligence committees oversight roles in reviewing the nomination. Although Tuesday’s hearing included questions about military space procurement, commercial satellite services and intelligence systems, much of it was dominated by exchanges with Pentagon comptroller nominee Jules Hurst about the department’s supplemental budget request and the Trump administration’s military operations against Iran. The space nominees received comparatively limited questioning. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee’s top Democrat, pressed Mason on the changing division of responsibility between the NRO and Space Force as the military shifts airborne and ground moving-target surveillance missions toward satellite-based systems. The Space Force has operational responsibility for those missions, while the NRO has supplied technology and acquisition expertise for parts of the emerging architecture. Reed questioned whether the arrangement could pull the spy satellite agency toward near-term military requirements at the expense of its broader intelligence mission. Mason said the roles of the two organizations remained clear and described their work on moving-target systems as “a case of good governance” and “an example of adapting technology instead of starting a brand new program.” He pointed to the Ground Moving Target Indicator program, which adapted technology under development at the NRO rather than creating an entirely new…