Spacecom, Commerce Department to Boost Spaceflight Safety

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- U.S. Space Command and the Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Space Commerce, will begin dual-track operations in the provision of space situational awareness information and services to satellite owners and operators.

The two partners are migrating the provision of public services relating to spaceflight safety, currently provided via space-track.org, from USSPACECOM to OSC's new Traffic Coordination System for Space. TraCSS went live for a beta group of satellite owners and operators Sept. 30.

During this first of multiple phases, TraCSS will lean on USSPACECOM's data and distribute TraCSS-generated conjunction data messages (space traffic safety notifications) to beta users through the space-track.org interface. USSPACECOM will not cease or change its operations and will continue to provide publicly available SSA data and services to avoid a disruption to current spaceflight operations.

"TraCSS represents a modern approach to spaceflight safety, integrating the latest technologies and providing on-ramps for continuous improvements that will scale into the future," said Richard Dalbello, director of NOAA's Office of Space Commerce. "I'm thankful for our team and partners for doing the hard work to launch the first phase on schedule."

Over time, TraCSS will integrate more data, incorporate revisions and add capabilities, while USSPACECOM continues services in parallel with an emphasis on national security. A full migration will be complete when both parties meet agreed upon conditions. At that point, USSPACECOM will continue to maintain the authoritative space catalog and will remain the provider of SSA and space domain awareness data supporting national security issues in space, including classified data sharing and threat awareness in support of mission requirements.

USSPACECOM currently tracks and publishes information about approximately 47,000 objects in space, to include military, civilian and commercial objects, through space-track.org. Since 2010, U.S. Air Force, now U.S. Space Force, units have provided spaceflight safety services known as conjunction assessments and a resident space object database.

With the global increase of commercial, military and civil space activities, Space Policy Directive-3 (2018) recognized the need for the Department of Defense to focus resources on maintaining access to, and freedom of action in space. It further directed the Department of Commerce to serve as the lead civil agency to provide basic SSA data and basic space traffic coordination services to the public.

"This step is a significant milestone in a team effort between the Office of Space Commerce and the DoD. It represents our shared commitment to ensuring spaceflight safety to all operators." said Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command. "The eventual migration to TraCSS will allow us to focus on the space domain awareness needed to plan, integrate, execute and assess military space operations."

USSPACECOM, working with allies and partners, plans, executes, and integrates military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression, defend national interests, and when necessary, defeat threats.

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