The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is an office within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which is part of the United States Department of Commerce. It is currently one of several offices within the department that are responsible for overseeing and promoting economic activity in space. The office is small in size, and its first director was Kevin O'Connell.[1] In January 2021, Mark Paese took over as acting director.[2] As of May 9, 2022, Richard DalBello is the current director of the Office of Space Commerce.[3]
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
In May 2018, Wilbur Ross, the Secretary of Commerce announced plans to consolidate the Office with the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) Office to form a new administration, the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration.[4] The goal of the new agency would be to streamline the regulatory process.[5] These plans were subsequently abandoned.[6]
Traffic Coordination System for Space
editThe Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) is the OSC's civil space traffic coordination system. When fully operational, TraCSS will enhance space situational awareness by providing frequent conjunction data messages to satellite operators. TraCSS entered phase 1.0 beta testing on September 30, 2024, with nine operators participating in the testing phase: The Aerospace Corporation, Eutelsat OneWeb, Georgia Tech, Intelsat, Iridium, Maxar, NOAA, Planet Labs and Telesat.[7]
TraCSS is intended to replace the United States Space Surveillance Network's Space-Track service by the end of 2025.[7]
References
edit- ^ Foust, Jeff (June 22, 2018). "Commerce Department moves ahead with space regulatory reforms". SpaceNews. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (March 11, 2021). "Industry groups advocate for Office of Space Commerce". SpaceNews. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Leslie, John (April 27, 2022). "NOAA's Office of Space Commerce gets new director".
- ^ Foust, Jeff (May 27, 2018). "Commerce Department to create "SPACE Administration"". SpaceNews. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Coldeway, Devin (May 28, 2018). "SPACE Administration would streamline federal oversight of commercial launches". Techcrunch. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Marcia (November 18, 2020). "Senate Committee Approves SPACE Act, But Without a Bureau of Space Commerce". SpacePolicyOnline.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ a b Foust, Jeff (September 30, 2024). "Commerce begins beta tests of space traffic coordination system". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
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