Space Situational Awareness Focus of Senate Hearing

The Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Space and Science held a hearing last week focused on space situational awareness and orbital debris.

"The safety of the space environment is critical to all of our operators: from navigating through debris fields, rocket bodies, and defunct satellites, to operators coordinating on orbital planes and best practices for collision avoidance, to our cubesat operators who must utilize innovative designs to maneuver their satellites without exceeding their size, weight, and power budgets.

Satellite Industry Association president Tom Stroup.

Reliable space situational awareness (“SSA”) data and civil space traffic management (“STM”) services are critical to enabling continued growth of the innovative commercial space industry, according to the committee leadership. As the number of satellites in orbit rapidly increases, the nation must redouble its efforts to track and manage objects in space. Witnesses discussed the policies, programs, and research needed for effective civil SSA, STM, and orbital debris mitigation.

Among the industry leaders who testified before the committee was Satellite Industry Association president Tom Stroup, “We are at an important time in the advancement and use of space with U.S. industry bringing vast innovation to space. There are many innovative ways to use space which drive the increased need for more precise orbital tracking, space situational awareness (SSA), and, in the future, a space traffic coordination and management (STCM) regime," Stroup said in his prepared remarks. "The safety of the space environment is critical to all of our operators: from navigating through debris fields, rocket bodies, and defunct satellites, to operators coordinating on orbital planes and best practices for collision avoidance, to our cubesat operators who must utilize innovative designs to maneuver their satellites without exceeding their size, weight, and power budgets.

“SIA projects the profile of active satellites operating in low earth orbit will change substantially in the upcoming 5-10 years… it is clear that the current framework of space regulations and policies requires review and, in some cases, revision to prepare for the continued utilization of space, encourage and promote innovation, drive continued investments in the U.S., and promote a safe space environment," Stroup continued. "SIA urges thoughtful consideration of the SSA and eventual STCM regime in a way that facilitates operators appropriately responsible for safe space operations and fosters the ongoing safe and efficient use of the shared space environment.”

Also on the witness panel was Karina Drees, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Drees said space situational awareness (SSA) represents the most pressing issue to address today, and access to accurate and timely tracking data is essential to ensuring continued safe operations in space for all users.

"The U.S. Space Force 18th Space Control Squadron (SPCS) does an outstanding job collecting data from U.S. government and commercial sensors worldwide to track and catalogue over 26,000 objects. SPCS supports U.S. government spacecraft operations and publicly releases unclassified tracking data for spacecraft and debris as small as two inches in diameter. SPCS also provides spacecraft operators, both foreign and domestic, with Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs), that indicate whether the probability of collision between two objects is greater than 10" Drees said.

"To better align agency focus, the Space Force and independent technical authorities, including the National Academy of Public Administration, have recommended that SPCS transition unclassified SSA activities for non-U.S.-government users to a separate entity; specifically, the Department of Commerce (DOC). Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3) issued further guidance for this transition.

"CSF fully endorses this recommendation, and acknowledges that this Committee has also long supported DOC assuming this mission. The SSA mission is separate and distinct from the regulatory activities performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and should be managed by a separate civilian agency. The Department has commenced on developing the Open Architecture Data Repository (OADR) to collect and integrate government and commercial data into a new database and widely distribute it to space users. This is a great first step. CSF has supported the Department of Commerce’s efforts to establish a dynamic, flexible, and scalable approach to civilian SSA and STM, and we are eager for DOC to quickly transition from a study phase into an operational phase for this effort. Space Situational Awareness (SSA) represents the most pressing issue to address today, and access to accurate and timely tracking data is essential to ensuring continued safe operations in space for all users," Drees said.

Drees went on to say that any new U.S. regulations on orbital debris will be undercut by foreign-licensed systems that serve the U.S. market but are not required to abide by FCC or other U.S. Government orbital debris rules. She said that the FCC should modify its rules to require that any company that serves the U.S. market must comply with U.S. orbital debris rules. This requirement would significantly improve global orbital debris activities, while leveling the playing field for companies licensed in the United States.

(Source: Satellite Industry Association and Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Image from file)