WASHINGTON - In a move that surely surprised no one, the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7 confirmed Erich Hernandez-Baquero to oversee military space acquisition and Roger Mason to lead the National Reconnaissance Office, installing two industry veterans at the helm of major parts of the U.S. national security space enterprise. This comes as Washington accelerates spending on satellites and overhauls how it buys them, a process that has historically moved at the speed of a tectonic plate.

Hernandez-Baquero and Mason were part of a large group of civilian nominees confirmed by a 51-47 vote, which is about as close as the Senate gets to a consensus these days. Their approvals came a day after the Senate confirmed Gen. Douglas Schiess to be a four-star general and the next chief of space operations. So, three organizations responsible for defining military space requirements, acquiring Space Force systems, and operating the nation's intelligence satellites now have new leaders, and they all got the job around the same time. Efficiency!

Hernandez-Baquero becomes assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, making him the senior civilian official responsible for much of the Space Force's acquisition enterprise. He takes office as the service seeks a record $71.1 billion fiscal 2027 budget and reorganizes acquisition programs around mission-focused Portfolio Acquisition Executives, or PAEs. These PAEs are intended to push authority closer to the officials responsible for delivering operational capability, which sounds like a great idea, but we've heard that before.

A retired Air Force colonel, Hernandez-Baquero comes to the job from Raytheon, where he was vice president for space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. He previously held several acquisition positions at the NRO, including senior leadership roles overseeing command-and-control and data-processing systems. So, he's seen the problem from both sides now, which might actually help.

His arrival gives the Space Force its first Senate-confirmed acquisition executive since Frank Calvelli left the government in January 2025. Hernandez-Baquero inherits an acquisition structure that has changed substantially in the interim, with traditional program executive offices being reorganized under PAEs responsible for broader mission areas rather than individual programs. Because nothing says 'reform' like a new acronym.

During his July confirmation hearing, Hernandez-Baquero said his priorities would be acquisition reform, integration across missions, and rebuilding the acquisition workforce. He said the new structure should be judged by whether it delivers integrated capabilities to military operators rather than individual satellites or ground systems. So, the bar is set at 'does it actually work?' - a novel concept.

Mason, meanwhile, takes control of an NRO that is already in the midst of one of the largest architectural changes in its history. The agency, which develops, acquires, launches, and operates U.S. intelligence satellites, has moved beyond its historical dependence on small numbers of large, highly capable spacecraft and is deploying a proliferated constellation intended to provide more frequent imagery and greater resilience. Because if a few big satellites are good, a bunch of smaller ones are better - that's the American way.

Mason succeeds Christopher Scolese, who left the agency July 10 after nearly seven years as director. He brings a mix of government and industry experience, most recently as chief growth officer at defense contractor V2X and previously heading Peraton's space and intelligence business. Earlier in his career, he served as the first assistant director of national intelligence for systems and resource analyses, helping set intelligence requirements and evaluate major acquisition investments. So, he's familiar with the bureaucracy, which is either a plus or a cautionary tale.

Mason told senators his top priorities would be accelerating an architecture that combines proliferated satellites with more sophisticated government systems, speeding adoption of new technology, and making the NRO's entire enterprise from satellites through ground networks more resilient. Because in the world of spy satellites, 'resilient' is the buzzword of the decade, and who are we to argue?