WASHINGTON — Brig. Gen. Mark Baird will be leaving his current post as vice commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in Los Angeles to take one of the Pentagon’s top space jobs, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Baird will be taking over as the director of space programs within the office of the U.S. Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition. That position is currently held by Maj. Gen. Roger Teague.
Baird joined the service in 1989, and has a long career in the space field, including previous tours at SMC and as a space expert for the assistant secretary of the Air Force.

SpaceNews has reached out to the Pentagon for more information.

Phillip Swarts is the military space reporter for SpaceNews. He previously covered space and advanced technology for Air Force Times, the Justice Department for The Washington Times, and investigative journalism for the Washington Guardian;...