Frank Calvelli

Frank Calvelli worked as the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from July 2012 until October 2020. The NRO is in charge of “designing, building, launching, and maintaining America’s intelligence satellites.” In his role as principal deputy director, Calvelli “provide[d] overall day-to-day management of the NRO, with decision responsibility as delegated by the director.” Prior to his appointment, he also “held a variety of senior positions within the NRO including satellite and ground system acquisition, systems engineering, and mission operations.” In 2013, the Washington Post reported that the NRO had an annual budget of $10.3 billion.

In September 2021, Calvelli joined Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm, as the senior vice president of the firm’s national security business. In fiscal year 2020, Booz Allen Hamilton was a top 20 federal contractor with the Department of Defense, receiving over $2.3 billion. According to a press release, Booz Allen said “his responsibilities include overseeing the company’s work in the space segment as it aims to provide new technology to intelligence and defense programs focused on that domain.” Booz Allen executive vice president Judi Dotson touted Calvelli’s career, stating, “Frank’s deep expertise is tremendously valuable to the transformation journey of our space portfolio,” adding that “[s]pace intelligence and defense are coming together as one, and Frank will help position us in that nexus.”

Calvelli did not respond to request for comment.

In December 2021, President Biden nominated Calvelli to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, a position Congress created in 2019 within the new United States Space Force service branch. Booz Allen received over $735 million in contracts with the Air Force in fiscal year 2020, and the company reportedly considers the space business market to be a “top priority.”

“I’m passionate about all things space,” Calvelli stated in his Booz Allen employee profile. “We need to stay vigilant against threats to our space systems from other countries.”