The U.S. Office of Space Commerce (OSC), operating within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which is part of the Department of Commerce, is the primary entity responsible for fostering the economic growth and technological advancement of the U.S. commercial space industry. Its key activities include policy advocacy, regulation of private remote sensing space systems, and the provision of space situational awareness services, notably through the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). OSC works with various government agencies like NASA and international organizations such as ESA to promote U.S. space commerce and ensure compliance with regulations. The OSC aims to advance U.S. leadership in the global commercial space sector by removing regulatory barriers and promoting U.S. space products/services.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The Office of Space Commerce is developing a civil space traffic coordination system and would take over that work from the Department of Defense under the proposal.
The Commercial Space Act of 2023 would create a certification process for spacecraft not licensed by other agencies to be handled by the Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce.
The ORBITS Act would require the Office of Space Commerce, together with the National Space Council and the Federal Communications Commission, to encourage the development of practices for coordinating space traffic to help avoid collisions that create debris.
Under the bill, companies would provide basic information about their spacecraft to the Office of Space Commerce, including a debris mitigation plan.
The bill would direct the Office of Space Commerce to select a consortium led by an academic or nonprofit organization to provide civil space situational awareness data, information, and services.
The Office of Space Commerce received $70 million in funding for fiscal year 2023, compared to $16 million in 2022.
The Office of Space Commerce requested $88 million for fiscal year 2024.
Richard DalBello, director of the Office of Space Commerce, aims to have about 50 staff members by next year.
The Defense Department is providing the Office of Space Commerce with better space situational awareness data as part of the transition effort.
The Office of Space Commerce is making progress on setting up a system to take space situational awareness data from the Defense Department and other sources to warn satellite operators.
The Defense Department plans to release a high-accuracy catalog of data to the Office of Space Commerce every four hours starting in spring of the next year.
The Office of Space Commerce is instructed to offer a free basic service for space traffic management, while allowing industry to sell advanced services.
The Office of Space Commerce anticipates spending $17 million in 2024 on commercial infrastructure and $41 million on commercial space situational awareness data and services.
The Office of Space Commerce requested $88,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and projects spending $17,000,000 on commercial infrastructure and $41,000,000 on commercial space situational awareness data, services, and pathfinders to support TraCSS.
The Office of Space Commerce has been hiring staff with a goal of reaching 50 people by 2024.
The Office of Space Commerce plans to operate two TraCSS operations centers whose locations have not yet been determined.
The Office of Space Commerce had a $70,000,000 budget in fiscal year 2023, which was less than the $87,000,000 requested and far more than the $16,000,000 it received in 2022.
Richard DalBello is director of the Office of Space Commerce and took over the role in May 2022.
The Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce is developing the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, to use space situational awareness data from multiple sources and provide basic services like conjunction warnings free of charge.
The Office of Space Commerce seeks greater transparency from commercial satellite operators, including sharing location and maneuver information.