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.
The transition of civil space traffic management responsibilities to the Department of Commerce is planned to start in 2024.
The Office of Space Commerce is charged with implementing Space Policy Directive 3, a four-year-old policy directing the Commerce Department to take over civil space traffic management responsibilities currently handled by the Department of Defense.
The Commerce Department unveiled an early prototype in February for a space catalog and traffic software platform intended to provide basic situational awareness and traffic management services.
Space Policy Directive 3 directs the Department of Commerce to take over civil space traffic management responsibilities currently handled by the Department of Defense.
The Commerce Department requested $87,700,000 for the Office of Space Commerce in its fiscal year 2023 budget request.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo selected Richard DalBello as the next director of the Office of Space Commerce on 2022-04-27.
Kevin O’Connell established the Washington consulting firm Space Economy Rising after leaving the Commerce Department.
The omnibus spending bill provides $16,000,000 for the Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce, which is $6,000,000 above the fiscal year 2021 level.
Space Policy Directive 3 assigned the Commerce Department responsibility for civil space traffic management in 2018 and instructed the government to provide basic data and services, including conjunction and reentry warnings, free of direct user fees while allowing commercial services.
The Commerce Department unveiled a prototype for the open architecture data repository (OADR) on 2022-02-11.
The Trump administration assigned the Commerce Department responsibility for creating a civilian space traffic management organization in 2018.
Alaska’s Department of Commerce released background data on SpaceX’s financial structure for 2022 as of 2021-12-31.
Fidelity Investments does not appear in the Alaska Department of Commerce list of SpaceX investors despite prior reports of discussions to invest $1,000,000,000 in SpaceX.
The Trump administration ordered the transfer of spaceflight safety responsibilities from U.S. Space Command to the Department of Commerce in a 2018 policy directive.
The U.S. Commerce Department released streamlined remote sensing regulations in 2020 that established a three-tiered licensing approach for commercial remote sensing.
Tier One under the 2020 Commerce Department regulations carries few restrictions and covers capabilities similar to what foreign vendors offer.
Tier Two under the 2020 Commerce Department regulations applies license restrictions to systems capable of producing data similar to what is available only from other U.S. sources.
Space Policy Directive 3 in 2018 assigned civil space traffic management to the Commerce Department through its Office of Space Commerce.
The 2021-11-29 Senate letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo questioned progress appointing a new director for the Office of Space Commerce, a position that has been vacant since the beginning of the Biden administration.
The Department of Commerce plans to request increased funding in its 2022-10-01 budget request to increase staffing for the Office of Space Commerce.