Due to the Air Force’s decision to keep the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office open through fiscal year 2014, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said he lifted his hold on Air Force secretary nominee Deborah James.
In a Sept. 27 letter to Heinrich, Air Force Legislative Liaison Director Maj. Gen. Thomas Bergeson said the ORS office has been realigned under the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (AFSMC) commander as directed by the FY ’13 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but it will remain separate from other AFSMC organizations. Bergeson also said the Air Force will maintain the current ORS staff, to include contracted efforts of 31 “full time equivalents” spread over 33 individuals, for ongoing ORS projects and activities during this time period.
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| ORS-1 launches June 29, 2011, from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Photo: Air Force. |
In addition to keeping the ORS office open, Heinrich’s office said the Air Force committed to determining a mission and payload for the ORS-2 satellite, which it said had been on hold pending a decision from Air Force leadership, and completing the “strategic plan” required by the FY ’13 NDAA.
Heinrich’s office said yesterday in a statement the senator, satisfied with the Air Force’s decision to keep the ORS office open, lifted his hold on James. Heinrich last week placed his hold, but it was not known until yesterday what his concerns were. Heinrich’s colleague, Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) member Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), placed her own hold early last week over concerns that the Air Force could divest its A-10 fleet (Defense Daily, Sept. 27).
“The purpose of my hold was to ensure the Air Force followed the law and allowed for the continuation of the ORS program and the work they are doing for our national security,” Heinrich said in a statement.
The ORS office was created in the 2007 Defense Authorization Act to build an enabling infrastructure to support the rapid deployment of space capabilities at lower costs. The ORS program focuses on using small satellites and launch vehicles to provide innovative sensor technologies to the commanders in the battlefield, and doing so in shortened timeframes and in more affordable ways (Defense Daily; Feb. 26, 2010).
Heinrich’s office said the Air Force proposed terminating the ORS office in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Both years congressional defense committees in the House and Senate rejected the proposed termination and Congress set aside $105 million for ORS in FY ’13. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) also provided $105 million for ORS in its FY ’14 defense spending bill.
The Air Force in September, Heinrich’s office said, initiated a de facto shutdown of the ORS program as personnel at the office began receiving notices of termination. The ORS office is based at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The Air Force did not respond to repeated requests for comment by press time.