Col. Alexander Rasmussen
Chief Capability Officer, Space Development Agency
Col. Alexander Rasmussen’s team’s recent achievement and continuing goal has been spearheading the evolution of the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture to deliver greater missile-sensing capability to support homeland defense.
By championing an agile, iterative development process, the team ensured each new phase of the architecture expands its ability to detect emerging threats, directly strengthening missile defense systems at home and around the globe.
“This success was built on a foundation of strategic collaboration, and I am proud to have forged powerful partnerships with leaders in industry, the Missile Defense Agency, and across the U.S. Space Force,” Rasmussen said.
SDA’s charter is to act as a constructive disrupter in delivering space-based capabilities to the Joint Force. Part of that charter calls on SDA to be a lean, agile organization focused on the mission. That’s resulted in a focused, efficient team that’s empowered to deliver capability, Rasmussen said. He added that the team embraces acquisition reform and is maximizing acquisition flexibility through consolidated authorities and the use of novel acquisition and contracting tools.
Why Watch
In 2026, SDA is scaling and maturing its business model to continue driving toward next-generation capability while delivering its first tranche of operational satellites. This marks a delivery milestone and validates its agile acquisition model. Rasmussen’s team is actively harnessing insights from its programs, industry leaders and mission partners across the Defense Department to refine strategy, ensuring it delivers what the nation needs while accelerating the pace of innovation to maintain a decisive advantage in global missile kill chains.
Rasmussen said decision speed equals innovation speed. “The future is built on a series of decisions,” he said. “To accelerate innovation, you must first accelerate decision-making. My years on tanks taught me that to move with speed and audacity, you must be decisive. The same applies with innovation.”
Dr. Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, acting director of SDA, agreed.
“Innovating at speed takes a certain kind of leader with the ability to synthesize huge amounts of information, make decisions quickly, and relentlessly drive toward delivery,” Sandhoo said. “Few people embody those abilities better than Col. Alexander Rasmussen.”
Sandhoo said Rasmussen is a longtime leader within SDA, serving as chief capabilities officer for about a year. Under his leadership, the technical team is rapidly incorporating new technology and embracing lessons learned to improve the process and performance of each new generation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
“Having an Army officer embedded within the space acquisition organization, Col. Rasmussen has been instrumental in advocating the user’s perspective, ensuring that the needs of the warfighter remain at the forefront of innovation and development,” Sandhoo said.
Fun fact: When not outdoors, Rasmussen spends much of his free time reading science fiction, which he sees as a way to stay grounded in forward-looking thinking and engineering possibility.