Draft Trump EO would loosen commercial space regs, citing national security links
The draft EO would eliminate, waive and/or loosen federal environmental protection reviews required for launch licenses, including for those from Space Force ranges.
Appropriators restore funding for Commerce’s TraCSS spacewatch effort
After a drastic reduction proposed by the White House, the Senate Appropriations Committee would fund the Office of Space Commerce at $60 million in FY26 to continue with TraCSS.
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Meeting modern airpower needs with faster R&D cycles for propulsion
As aircraft shrink, threats expand, and technology accelerates, aircraft engines must iterate along with the threats.
Industry lobbies to protect Commerce space office at risk of cuts
The Trump administration’s budget would dramatically shrink the Office of Space Commerce and cancel an effort to transition responsibilities for keeping tabs on civil satellites from the Pentagon to the Commerce Department.
As industry frets licensing bottlenecks, NOAA reinstates top commercial space officials
Representatives of US remote sensing firms remain extremely nervous about possible roadblocks to future plans that require either new licenses or license modifications due to the personnel downsizing resulting from the efforts of Elon Musk's DOGE team to chop the size of the federal bureaucracy.
Firings sap NOAA office responsible for licensing remote sensing satellite firms
License holders are receiving emails saying that all correspondence with the Commercial Remote Sensing for Regulatory Affairs is now being routed to the NOAA Office of General Counsel as no "senior personnel remain in the office," according to communications reviewed by Breaking Defense.
Commerce taps Slingshot to create space tracking user website
Once up and running, the new TraCSS.gov site will allow commercial and foreign operators to migrate from DoD's Space-track.org website for accessing data on space object whereabouts.
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Beacon brings industry into a shared ecosystem to accelerate flight autonomy
Six companies have already signed up for a new flight-test program to mature their autonomy software.
Commerce initiates civil space tracking operations with ‘beta’ users
"Transitioning the spaceflight safety SSA responsibilities to DoC, a civil agency, will improve support to these users and allow DoD to focus its resources on core defense missions,” John Hill, DoD's senior space policy officer, said.
Not a one-way street: DoD will receive, not just give, data to Commerce’s space traffic system
TraCSS will go above and beyond DoD's current collision warning process by publicly providing the specifics of a potential crash in what are deemed emergency situations, explained Mariel Borowitz, OSC director of international SSA engagement.
Commerce ‘on track’ for version 1.0 of space tracking system, using DoD data
In discussing the preliminary version of TraCSS, Richard DalBello, director of the Office of Space Commerce, revealed to Breaking Defense that he's stepping down at the end of the year.
Commerce IG frets delays in transition of space monitoring from DoD
The IG further is urging NOAA's Office of Space Commerce to move out more aggressively to craft a plan to set binding rules to manage the ever increasing amount of on-orbit traffic — despite the fact, as pointed out to Breaking Defense by senior NOAA officials, that Congress has yet to give OSC the legal authority to do so.
Modern Tech in Indo-Pacific Operations
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
New commercial space traffic system debuts soon, on heels of DoD, Commerce data sharing pact
"There's an awful lot of security concern about what we can see now, what the planet can see now," said Barbara Golf, executive agent for space domain awareness at Space Systems Command.
Commerce extends commercial data contracts for space tracking system pilot
All five contractors — COMSPOC, Kayhan Space, LeoLabs, Slingshot Aerospace, and SpaceNav — received new orders, bringing total "spending over the course of the Consolidated Pathfinder to $15.5 million," according to an announcement by the Office of Space Commerce.
Commerce’s ‘Global Vision’ for tracking on orbit systems emphasizes international coordination
A global ecosystem that shares space situational awareness data can secure a safe future for space, but much greater international coordination is needed, according to a new document from the Office of Space Commerce.
‘Slow transition:’ Commerce may need 5+ years to take over DoD non-military space tracking
"It's not going to be like a 'boom' milestone delivery where one day there's nothing and the next day, there's a finished system," Richard DalBello, director of the Office of Space Commerce, said of the swap from DoD to Commerce.