Commerce Department’s New Traffic Coordination System for Space Launches Initial Capabilities
NOAA, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced that the initial phase of its Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) has begun delivering spaceflight safety services to a beta group of satellite operators. Today, for the first time, satellite operators are receiving basic space situational awareness (SSA) data and space traffic coordination (STC) services from the Commerce Department.
TraCSS is a modern, cloud-based IT system that provides warning notifications for satellites potentially in danger of collision. With increasing numbers of satellites and orbital debris, space traffic information and safety notifications are essential for global spaceflight safety and the long-term sustainability of the space environment.
Nine satellite operators – NOAA, Maxar, Telesat, Intelsat, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Planet Labs, Eutelsat Oneweb, Iridium, and the Aerospace Corporation – now receive validated safety notifications from TraCSS in the form of conjunction data messages (CDMs, alerts describing potential collisions). TraCSS will add satellite operators and provide more data and services as the program progresses.
The announcement marks a milestone in DOC’s work to implement the U.S. Space Priorities Framework and Space Policy Directive-3, which directed DOC to take this mission over from the Department of Defense.
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