Office of Space Commerce

On November 6, the U.S. Department of Commerce will host a public meeting on space export controls with experts from the U.S. Department of State and Bureau of Industry and Security-U.S. Department of Commerce to discuss the new rulemakings and answer questions. Register to attend in person or virtually: https://lnkd.in/eaBBBnWF #SpacePolicy #ITAR

The Office of Space Commerce was delighted to participate in the United Nations Space Bridge on Space Traffic Coordination yesterday. Thank you Aarti Holla-Maini and United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) for convening this important discussion that will help us start realizing the vision of global SSA coordination. #SpaceTrafficCoordination #SpaceDiplomacy

Team OSC is at the United Nations Space Bridge event in New York, meeting with EU SST and other civil and commercial SSA service providers to discuss next steps towards global #SpaceTrafficCoordination. United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Registration is still open for tomorrow's webinar

Intern Insight #7 by OSC's student intern Chad McElroy: Working in Washington, D.C., is showing me how the budgetary process impacts decision-making for agencies as large as NASA and as small as college student governments. Federal agencies generally depend on annual Congressional appropriations for funding, which encourages agencies to prioritize their programs in accordance with anticipated budgets and the surrounding fiscal environment. As budgets can fluctuate year-to-year, agencies must sometimes make decisions that save money in the short-term, yet are not necessarily beneficial in the medium or long-term. A recent example is NASA’s cancellation of the VIPER rover, a mission that would have searched for water ice at the Moon’s south pole after being delivered by a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) lander. While the rover may have unearthed important scientific insights, NASA found itself unable to support the mission in light of other priorities. This reminded me of my time in student government back at Claremont McKenna College, where as a chairman for our Senate Administrative Affairs and Appropriations committee, I often had to make case-by-case decisions on student budget requests that were dependent on, and highly restricted by, the Senate’s overall budget. Now working in a government agency, I can see how the same dynamics can apply, albeit with a much larger budget!

The video recording and slides from the Oct 3 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space (ACES) are now available: https://lnkd.in/eViv3knu #ACEScommittee

Now hiring: Licensing Officer, Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Division. Develop operating conditions for space systems and issue licenses. GS-11/12 to GS-13/14 equivalent. Apply by Nov 6: https://lnkd.in/g3AXQNCW

Last week at #IAC2024, Matt Hejduk of The Aerospace Corporation presented a paper on behalf of the Office of Space Commerce, describing technical results from the #TraCSS Consolidated Pathfinder project. The study revealed opportunities and challenges for using commercial space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities to support spaceflight safety in low Earth orbit. Read the paper: https://lnkd.in/ek3i2cf3

The application deadline for this position has been extended to Friday, October 25.

The United States has always been a global leader in fostering a competitive and responsible space sector. As the diversity of commercial activity in space grows, these rules will reduce the burden for U.S. industry to continue innovating and leading in the space sector. This update also significantly advances our ability to broaden and deepen international partnerships, to grow our economy, and to collaborate on mutual space priorities.