The U.S. Department of Commerce plays a significant role in the space industry through its Office of Space Commerce (OSC). The OSC is responsible for fostering the economic growth and technological advancement of the U.S. commercial space industry by coordinating policy, streamlining regulations, and providing space situational awareness services, including the development of the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). The Department also works to promote U.S. space products and services internationally, supporting companies like SpaceX in securing contracts and modernizing space-related export controls through the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). Key partners include NASA, NOAA, and various international entities.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) introduced the Space Safety and Situational Awareness Transition Act of 2022 on 2022-12-14 toauthorize the Department of Commerce to establish a civil space situational awareness capability and to direct NASA to pursue research to improve SSA capabilities.
The Department of Commerce is in the process of establishing a civil space situational awareness capability under Space Policy Directive 3 without formal congressional authorization.
The ORBITS Act directs the Department of Commerce to work with other agencies on standard practices for space traffic coordination.
A Presidential directive with support from Congress and the National Space Council directs migration of commercial and civil space situational awareness services to the Commerce Department with initial operations by fiscal year 2024.
NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce is working closely with the Department of Defense on the MEO/GEO pilot project and the overall migration of commercial and civil space situational awareness responsibilities to the Commerce Department.
The U.S. military currently performs spaceflight safety services that the Department of Commerce is directed to provide under the 2018 presidential policy.
The MEO-GEO pilot project advances implementation of a 2018 presidential policy directing the Department of Commerce to provide spaceflight safety services for civil and commercial satellite operators.
The Office of Space Commerce is working closely with the Department of Defense on the MEO-GEO pilot project and the overall migration of commercial and civil space situational awareness responsibilities to the Commerce Department.
The Office of Space Commerce is working closely with the Department of Defense on the MEO/GEO pilot project and the overall migration of commercial and civil SSA responsibilities to the Department of Commerce.
Space Policy Directive-3 directs the Department of Commerce to provide a basic level of space situational awareness for public and private use based on the space catalog compiled by the Department of Defense.
One recommendation in the compendium endorses funding the Office of Space Commerce in the Department of Commerce so it can take on civil space traffic management responsibilities.
The Department of Commerce must secure funding and determine rollout timing to establish its civil space traffic management function, and Space Delta 2 is committed to assisting the DOC in that effort.
Esri partnered with the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to launch the Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) portal.
Section 4 of the ORBITS Act directs NASA, the Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce (OSC), and the National Space Council to publish an unclassified list of orbital debris that poses the greatest immediate risk to in-space operations and spacecraft.
Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves presented the memorandum of agreement between the Departments of Commerce and Defense at the 2022-09-09 National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The contract advances the Department of Commerce’s efforts to fulfill Space Policy Directive-3, which calls for development of a national Space Traffic Management service managed by a civil government agency.
The Department of Commerce will utilize LeoLabs’ orbital data products to support testing and evaluation of a prototype Space Traffic Management system.
On 2022-09-09, LeoLabs secured an award to provide data and services to the U.S. Department of Commerce to support development of a U.S. civil-led Space Traffic Management system.
The Department of Commerce has made its first commercial data purchases for the Office of Space Commerce effort, with the purchased data covering both low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit.
The memorandum of agreement defines how the Departments of Commerce and Defense will work together to implement provisions of Space Policy Directive 3 (SPD-3) from 2018 that directed the Department of Commerce to provide space situational awareness and space traffic management services such as conjunction warnings.