Kelly, Cornyn Introduce Bill to Direct Space Traffic in Low-Earth Orbit
This week, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Cornyn (R-TX), Gary Peters (D-MI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the Situational Awareness of Flying Elements in (SAFE) Orbit Act, which would encourage the development of commercial space capabilities by directing the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) within the U.S. Department of Commerce to acquire and disseminate unclassified data, analytics, information, and services on space activities and space traffic coordination in low-Earth Orbit.
“As the commercial space industry continues to grow, we need to safely track and manage objects in orbit to prevent collisions,” said Kelly. “I’ve had to directly deal with the consequences of orbital debris, and I know it’s critical we provide the tools to empower scientists and innovators to successfully explore this critical frontier and strengthen American leadership in space. With the SAFE Orbit Act, we are making good data available to satellite operators to operate safely in low earth orbit.”
“Commercial space objects in low-Earth orbit can help scientists make new discoveries and spur technological innovation, but this hinges on the ability to conduct safe and effective space traffic coordination,” said Cornyn. “The SAFE Orbit Act would prevent dangerous and costly accidental collisions in low-Earth orbit and improve access to data collection and analysis to help propel the United States into the next phase of space exploration.”
“To continue as a global leader in commercial space activity, the United States must lead the way to protect astronauts in orbit and space-based assets,” said Peters. “This legislation would provide important data that can help inform space exploration decisions and promote safe expansion.”
“The world is entering a new space race, and we must equip American innovators with every resource to win,” said Blackburn. “The SAFE Orbit Act would take an important step to centralize and improve space traffic coordination, ensuring there are no tragic collisions in space. As we enter this new frontier, we must be certain that we prioritize safety and coordination with our partners around the globe.”
“Future expansion in space requires better technology and data coordination. Currently, companies lack the awareness of other objects such as space junk, which could collide with valuable satellites,” said Wicker. “This new emerging business sector represents the new economic frontier, but we must make sure we are prepared to tap its potential.”
“This legislation will help make essential improvements to how we track objects in Earth’s orbit, enhancing space safety through better tracking and coordination to reduce collision risks,” said Luján. “As the commercial space activity grows, in New Mexico and across the country, access to critical space data is necessary to ensure safety and security.”
“The boom in commercial space activities has filled low-Earth orbit with more debris and satellites than ever,” said Hickenlooper. “A cutting-edge traffic coordination system will help preserve our leadership in space.”
Background:
Space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic coordination (STC) are critical to ensuring safe and sustainable access to low-Earth orbit and space writ large, and current government SSA services are not keeping pace with the accuracy levels the industry needs. The FY2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act directed the Department of Commerce to take on this responsibility, and the SAFE Orbit Act would allow OSC to conduct SSA and STC activities and direct OSC to:
- Make basic-level SSA data, analytics, information, and services available for public use through an easily accessible web-based interface at no charge to the end user.
- Maintain a public catalogue of SSA data and information and maximize the use of satellite owner and operator data, U.S. Government data, and the usage of commercial services, data, analytics, information, services, and platforms.
- Facilitate the development and adoption of voluntary industry consensus standards to ensure data standardization with satellite owners and operators, commercial service providers, the academic community, and nonprofits.
- Collaborate with U.S Government and foreign government operators to encourage participation in data-sharing with respect to their assets in orbit.
- Prioritize purchasing data, analytics, information, and services from commercial SSA providers and ensure any licensing agreements enable private U.S. firms to continue market growth and protect proprietary commercial systems and data.
This legislation is endorsed by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
The full text of the bill is available here.
