Acting Director Announced for Space Development Agency
Sept. 8, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – The Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the selection of Dr. Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo as the acting director of SDA, where he will lead the strategic direction and program execution for acquisition, delivery, and operations of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).
Sandhoo, most recently the agency’s deputy director, replaces SDA’s second and longest serving director, Derek Tournear, who completed the stand up of the organization in 2019 as an independent agency under Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and guided the agency through numerous milestones and acquisition achievements, including joining the U.S. Space Force in 2022. Tournear oversaw the agency’s exponential growth in budget and program responsibility and postured the agency to begin delivering, in record speed, the first batch of PWSA satellites that will help deter conflict and enhance warfighter lethality.
Filling the role of acting deputy director will be Michael Eppolito who has served as the SDA chief program officer since 2024. Eppolito joined SDA in 2020 and previously served as Battle Management cell chief and as program director for successful delivery of the Tranche 0 constellation.
“Derek’s vision wasn’t just courageous; it was transformative. His unwavering commitment to innovative space acquisition strategies, coupled with the implementation of spiral development, has revolutionized the speed at which we deliver vital capabilities to the warfighter – a pace that has not been seen in previous space acquisitions,” said Sandhoo. “We are also fortunate to have Mike Eppolito stepping up as acting deputy director. His deep expertise in government and space industry programs makes him the ideal leader to guide us as we begin delivering PWSA’s Tranche 1, the first set of capabilities that will directly support our warfighters in the fight tonight.”
Sandhoo served as vice president and chief architect at Quantum Space, director for Emerging Technologies at Northrop Grumman, deputy director at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), occupied the Heinlein Chair in Astronautics at the U.S. Naval Academy, and as the head of Spacecraft Engineering Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Sandhoo also brings over 36 years of military experience in both the active and reserve components of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Most recently, he served as the National Reconnaissance Office liaison to the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine and was the senior scientist in the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit.
Sandhoo holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, an M.S. in Space Systems, a D.Sc. in Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Propulsion from George Washington University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, and an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a 2016-2017 Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI.
About the Space Development Agency. As part of the U.S. Space Force, SDA is recognized as DOD’s constructive disruptor for space acquisition. SDA will accelerate delivery of needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. For more information on SDA, contact USSF.SDA.Outreach@mail.mil or visit https://www.sda.mil.
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