Pentagon plans to transfer ‘high accuracy’ space tracking data to Commerce

Pentagon plans to transfer ‘high accuracy’ space tracking data to Commerce
Pentagon plans to transfer ‘high accuracy’ space tracking data to Commerce

“Commercial data, commercial processing is not classified. It does not matter that the DoD wishes it were,” said Barbara Golf, special advisor to Space Systems Command.

EXCLUSIVE: Commerce’s draft space traffic management service goes beyond DoD’s baseline

EXCLUSIVE: Commerce’s draft space traffic management service goes beyond DoD’s baseline
EXCLUSIVE: Commerce’s draft space traffic management service goes beyond DoD’s baseline

Industry representatives meeting with Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves on Tuesday “stressed the need for [Commerce] to work quickly to field the new capabilities — ideally by buying and redistributing existing commercial products — in order to maintain leadership in the face of competing SSA offerings from the EU and China,” a Commerce official told Breaking Defense today.

At home and internationally, ‘governance’ is the space watchword: 2023 Preview

At home and internationally, ‘governance’ is the space watchword: 2023 Preview
At home and internationally, ‘governance’ is the space watchword: 2023 Preview

There are a host of open questions bedeviling national and international policy- and law-makers as they struggle to get a better grip on both the explosion of commercial players with innovative ideas for space utilization and the growing military interest in space as a tool of, and venue for, war.

Joint Commerce, STRATCOM commercial SSA pilot planned for December

Joint Commerce, STRATCOM commercial SSA pilot planned for December
Joint Commerce, STRATCOM commercial SSA pilot planned for December

That pilot project will use SPACECOM’s Unified Data Library (UDL) as a data base, DalBello said, because Commerce is still in the early stages of creating its own cloud-based data storage capability, called the Open Architecture Data Repository (OADR).

Kayhan Space building momentum, and DoD interest, with collision avoidance software

Kayhan Space building momentum, and DoD interest, with collision avoidance software
Kayhan Space building momentum, and DoD interest, with collision avoidance software

Kayhan Space is providing its baseline collision avoidance service, Pathfinder Essentials, for free “to keep space safe,” said company co-founder Araz Feyzi.

LeoLabs debuts collision risk assessment software for space insurers

LeoLabs debuts collision risk assessment software for space insurers
LeoLabs debuts collision risk assessment software for space insurers

“It’s a new and encouraging step in the right direction in terms of space domain awareness and a welcome collaboration within the industry,” said Denis Bensousan, of London-based insurance firm Beazley.

US awaits answers after China cries foul over purported sat threat to taikonauts

US awaits answers after China cries foul over purported sat threat to taikonauts
US awaits answers after China cries foul over purported sat threat to taikonauts

There is one bright spot in the ongoing US-China space traffic brouhaha: Beijing has begun publishing for the first time the basic orbital positions of its crewed space station.

US rejects charge that Starlink satellites endangered China’s space station

US rejects charge that Starlink satellites endangered China’s space station
US rejects charge that Starlink satellites endangered China’s space station

“Clearly an exchange of diplomatic notes is better than an exchange of Twitter fire (or worse). But diplomatic notes won’t fill in the gaps in space governance and traffic safety,” Jessica West of Canada’s Project Ploughshares said. 

Commerce Should Take DoD Space Safety Mission: Study

Commerce Should Take DoD Space Safety Mission: Study
Commerce Should Take DoD Space Safety Mission: Study

“The DoD system is not scalable to meet the demands of a growing number of objects in space and to deal with an increasing number of space operators,” the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report says.

Satellite Firms Debate New Commerce Space Safety Rules

Satellite Firms Debate New Commerce Space Safety Rules
Satellite Firms Debate New Commerce Space Safety Rules

Industry officials say there remain strong pockets of resistance to any new regulations, especially among aggressive space startups.