National Space Traffic Management Policy, 28969-28976 [2018-13521]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 28969-28976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13521]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 120 / Thursday, June 21, 2018 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 28969]]


                Space Policy Directive-3 of June 18, 2018

                
National Space Traffic Management Policy

                Memorandum for the Vice President[,] the Secretary of 
                State[,] the Secretary of Defense[,] the Secretary of 
                Commerce[,] the Secretary of Transportation[,] the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security[,] the Director of 
                National Intelligence[,] the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget[,] the Assistant to the President 
                for National Security Affairs[,] the Administrator of 
                the National Aeronautics and Space Administration[,] 
                the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
                Policy[,] the Deputy Assistant to the President for 
                Homeland Security and Counterterrorism[, and] the 
                Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

                Section 1. Policy. For decades, the United States has 
                effectively reaped the benefits of operating in space 
                to enhance our national security, civil, and commercial 
                sectors. Our society now depends on space technologies 
                and space-based capabilities for communications, 
                navigation, weather forecasting, and much more. Given 
                the significance of space activities, the United States 
                considers the continued unfettered access to and 
                freedom to operate in space of vital interest to 
                advance the security, economic prosperity, and 
                scientific knowledge of the Nation.

                Today, space is becoming increasingly congested and 
                contested, and that trend presents challenges for the 
                safety, stability, and sustainability of U.S. space 
                operations. Already, the Department of Defense (DoD) 
                tracks over 20,000 objects in space, and that number 
                will increase dramatically as new, more capable sensors 
                come online and are able to detect smaller objects. DoD 
                publishes a catalog of space objects and makes 
                notifications of potential conjunctions (that is, two 
                or more objects coming together at the same or nearly 
                the same point in time and space). As the number of 
                space objects increases, however, this limited traffic 
                management activity and architecture will become 
                inadequate. At the same time, the contested nature of 
                space is increasing the demand for DoD focus on 
                protecting and defending U.S. space assets and 
                interests.

                The future space operating environment will also be 
                shaped by a significant increase in the volume and 
                diversity of commercial activity in space. Emerging 
                commercial ventures such as satellite servicing, debris 
                removal, in-space manufacturing, and tourism, as well 
                as new technologies enabling small satellites and very 
                large constellations of satellites, are increasingly 
                outpacing efforts to develop and implement government 
                policies and processes to address these new activities.

                To maintain U.S. leadership in space, we must develop a 
                new approach to space traffic management (STM) that 
                addresses current and future operational risks. This 
                new approach must set priorities for space situational 
                awareness (SSA) and STM innovation in science and 
                technology (S&T), incorporate national security 
                considerations, encourage growth of the U.S. commercial 
                space sector, establish an updated STM architecture, 
                and promote space safety standards and best practices 
                across the international community.

                The United States recognizes that spaceflight safety is 
                a global challenge and will continue to encourage safe 
                and responsible behavior in space while emphasizing the 
                need for international transparency and STM data 
                sharing. Through this national policy for STM and other 
                national space

[[Page 28970]]

                strategies and policies, the United States will enhance 
                safety and ensure continued leadership, preeminence, 
                and freedom of action in space.

                Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this 
                memorandum, the following definitions shall apply:

                    (a) Space Situational Awareness shall mean the 
                knowledge and characterization of space objects and 
                their operational environment to support safe, stable, 
                and sustainable space activities.
                    (b) Space Traffic Management shall mean the 
                planning, coordination, and on-orbit synchronization of 
                activities to enhance the safety, stability, and 
                sustainability of operations in the space environment.
                    (c) Orbital debris, or space debris, shall mean any 
                human-made space object orbiting Earth that no longer 
                serves any useful purpose.

                Sec. 3. Principles. The United States recognizes, and 
                encourages other nations to recognize, the following 
                principles:

                    (a) Safety, stability, and operational 
                sustainability are foundational to space activities, 
                including commercial, civil, and national security 
                activities. It is a shared interest and responsibility 
                of all spacefaring nations to create the conditions for 
                a safe, stable, and operationally sustainable space 
                environment.
                    (b) Timely and actionable SSA data and STM services 
                are essential to space activities. Consistent with 
                national security constraints, basic U.S. Government-
                derived SSA data and basic STM services should be 
                available free of direct user fees.
                    (c) Orbital debris presents a growing threat to 
                space operations. Debris mitigation guidelines, 
                standards, and policies should be revised periodically, 
                enforced domestically, and adopted internationally to 
                mitigate the operational effects of orbital debris.
                    (d) A STM framework consisting of best practices, 
                technical guidelines, safety standards, behavioral 
                norms, pre-launch risk assessments, and on-orbit 
                collision avoidance services is essential to preserve 
                the space operational environment.

                Sec. 4. Goals. Consistent with the principles listed in 
                section 3 of this memorandum, the United States should 
                continue to lead the world in creating the conditions 
                for a safe, stable, and operationally sustainable space 
                environment. Toward this end, executive departments and 
                agencies (agencies) shall pursue the following goals as 
                required in section 6 of this memorandum:

                    (a) Advance SSA and STM Science and Technology. The 
                United States should continue to engage in and enable 
                S&T research and development to support the practical 
                applications of SSA and STM. These activities include 
                improving fundamental knowledge of the space 
                environment, such as the characterization of small 
                debris, advancing the S&T of critical SSA inputs such 
                as observational data, algorithms, and models necessary 
                to improve SSA capabilities, and developing new 
                hardware and software to support data processing and 
                observations.
                    (b) Mitigate the effect of orbital debris on space 
                activities. The volume and location of orbital debris 
                are growing threats to space activities. It is in the 
                interest of all to minimize new debris and mitigate 
                effects of existing debris. This fact, along with 
                increasing numbers of active satellites, highlights the 
                need to update existing orbital debris mitigation 
                guidelines and practices to enable more efficient and 
                effective compliance, and establish standards that can 
                be adopted internationally. These trends also highlight 
                the need to establish satellite safety design 
                guidelines and best practices.
                    (c) Encourage and facilitate U.S. commercial 
                leadership in S&T, SSA, and STM. Fostering continued 
                growth and innovation in the U.S. commercial space 
                sector, which includes S&T, SSA, and STM activities, is 
                in the national interest of the United States. To 
                achieve this goal, the U.S. Government should 
                streamline processes and reduce regulatory burdens that 
                could inhibit commercial sector growth and innovation, 
                enabling the U.S. commercial

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                sector to continue to lead the world in STM-related 
                technologies, goods, data, and services on the 
                international market.
                    (d) Provide U.S. Government-supported basic SSA 
                data and basic STM services to the public. The United 
                States should continue to make available basic SSA data 
                and basic STM services (including conjunction and 
                reentry notifications) free of direct user fees while 
                supporting new opportunities for U.S. commercial and 
                non-profit SSA data and STM services.
                    (e) Improve SSA data interoperability and enable 
                greater SSA data sharing. SSA data must be timely and 
                accurate. It is in the national interest of the United 
                States to improve SSA data interoperability and enable 
                greater SSA data sharing among all space operators, 
                consistent with national security constraints. The 
                United States should seek to lead the world in the 
                development of improved SSA data standards and 
                information sharing.
                    (f) Develop STM standards and best practices. As 
                the leader in space, the United States supports the 
                development of operational standards and best practices 
                to promote safe and responsible behavior in space. A 
                critical first step in carrying out that goal is to 
                develop U.S.-led minimum safety standards and best 
                practices to coordinate space traffic. U.S. regulatory 
                agencies should, as appropriate, adopt these standards 
                and best practices in domestic regulatory frameworks 
                and use them to inform and help shape international 
                consensus practices and standards.
                    (g) Prevent unintentional radio frequency (RF) 
                interference. Growing orbital congestion is increasing 
                the risk to U.S. space assets from unintentional RF 
                interference. The United States should continue to 
                improve policies, processes, and technologies for 
                spectrum use (including allocations and licensing) to 
                address these challenges and ensure appropriate 
                spectrum use for current and future operations.
                    (h) Improve the U.S. domestic space object 
                registry. Transparency and data sharing are essential 
                to safe, stable, and sustainable space operations. 
                Consistent with national security constraints, the 
                United States should streamline the interagency process 
                to ensure accurate and timely registration submissions 
                to the United Nations (UN), in accordance with our 
                international obligations under the Convention on 
                Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
                    (i) Develop policies and regulations for future 
                U.S. orbital operations. Increasing congestion in key 
                orbits and maneuver-based missions such as servicing, 
                survey, and assembly will drive the need for policy 
                development for national security, civil, and 
                commercial sector space activities. Consistent with 
                U.S. law and international obligations, the United 
                States should regularly assess existing guidelines for 
                non-government orbital activities, and maintain a 
                timely and responsive regulatory environment for 
                licensing these activities.

                Sec. 5. Guidelines. In pursuit of the principles and 
                goals of this policy, agencies should observe the 
                following guidelines:

                    (a) Managing the Integrity of the Space Operating 
                Environment.

(i) Improving SSA coverage and accuracy. Timely, accurate, and actionable 
data are essential for effective SSA and STM. The United States should seek 
to minimize deficiencies in SSA capability, particularly coverage in 
regions with limited sensor availability and sensitivity in detection of 
small debris, through SSA data sharing, the purchase of SSA data, or the 
provision of new sensors.

                New U.S. sensors are expected to reveal a substantially 
                greater volume of debris and improve our understanding 
                of space object size distributions in various regions 
                of space. However, very small debris may not be 
                sufficiently tracked to enable or justify actionable 
                collision avoidance decisions. As a result, close 
                conjunctions and even collisions with unknown objects 
                are possible, and satellite operators often lack 
                sufficient insight to assess their level of risk when 
                making maneuvering decisions. The United States should 
                develop better tracking capabilities, and new means to 
                catalog such

[[Page 28972]]

                debris, and establish a quality threshold for 
                actionable collision avoidance warning to minimize 
                false alarms.

                Through both Government and commercial sector S&T 
                investment, the United States should advance concepts 
                and capabilities to improve SSA in support of debris 
                mitigation and collision avoidance decisions.

(ii) Establishing an Open Architecture SSA Data Repository. Accurate and 
timely tracking of objects orbiting Earth is essential to preserving the 
safety of space activities for all. Consistent with section 2274 of title 
10, United States Code, a basic level of SSA data in the form of the 
publicly releasable portion of the DoD catalog is and should continue to be 
provided free of direct user fees. As additional sources of space tracking 
data become available, the United States has the opportunity to incorporate 
civil, commercial, international, and other available data to allow users 
to enhance and refine this service. To facilitate greater data sharing with 
satellite operators and enable the commercial development of enhanced space 
safety services, the United States must develop the standards and protocols 
for creation of an open architecture data repository. The essential 
features of this repository would include:

 Data integrity measures to ensure data accuracy and availability;

 Data standards to ensure sufficient quality from diverse sources;

 Measures to safeguard proprietary or sensitive data, including 
national security information;

 The inclusion of satellite owner-operator ephemerides to inform 
orbital location and planned maneuvers; and

 Standardized formats to enable development of applications to 
leverage the data.

                To facilitate this enhanced data sharing, and in 
                recognition of the need for DoD to focus on maintaining 
                access to and freedom of action in space, a civil 
                agency should, consistent with applicable law, be 
                responsible for the publicly releasable portion of the 
                DoD catalog and for administering an open architecture 
                data repository. The Department of Commerce should be 
                that civil agency.

(iii) Mitigating Orbital Debris. It is in the interest of all space 
operators to minimize the creation of new orbital debris. Rapid 
international expansion of space operations and greater diversity of 
missions have rendered the current U.S. Government Orbital Debris 
Mitigation Standard Practices (ODMSP) inadequate to control the growth of 
orbital debris. These standard practices should be updated to address 
current and future space operating environments. The United States should 
develop a new protocol of standard practices to set broader expectations of 
safe space operations in the 21st century. This protocol should begin with 
updated ODMSP, but also incorporate sections to address operating practices 
for large constellations, rendezvous and proximity operations, small 
satellites, and other classes of space operations. These overarching 
practices will provide an avenue to promote efficient and effective space 
safety practices with U.S. industry and internationally.

                The United States should pursue active debris removal 
                as a necessary long-term approach to ensure the safety 
                of flight operations in key orbital regimes. This 
                effort should not detract from continuing to advance 
                international protocols for debris mitigation 
                associated with current programs.

                    (b) Operating in a Congested Space Environment.

(i) Minimum Safety Standards and Best Practices. The creation of minimum 
standards for safe operation and debris mitigation derived in part from the 
U.S. Government ODMSP, but incorporating other standards and best 
practices, will best ensure the safe operation of U.S. space activities. 
These safety guidelines should consider maneuverability, tracking, 
reliability, and disposal.

                The United States should eventually incorporate 
                appropriate standards and best practices into Federal 
                law and regulation through appropriate rulemaking

[[Page 28973]]

                or licensing actions. These guidelines should encompass 
                protocols for all stages of satellite operation from 
                design through end-of-life.

                Satellite and constellation owners should participate 
                in a pre-launch certification process that should, at a 
                minimum, consider the following factors:

 Coordination of orbit utilization to prevent conjunctions;

 Constellation owner-operators' management of self-conjunctions;

 Owner-operator notification of planned maneuvers and sharing of 
satellite orbital location data;

 On-orbit tracking aids, including beacons or sensing enhancements, 
if such systems are needed;

 Encryption of satellite command and control links and data 
protection measures for ground site operations;

 Appropriate minimum reliability based on type of mission and phase 
of operations;

 Effect on the national security or foreign policy interests of the 
United States, or international obligations; and

 Self-disposal upon the conclusion of operational lifetime, or 
owner-operator provision for disposal using active debris removal methods.

(ii) On-Orbit Collision Avoidance Support Service. Timely warning of 
potential collisions is essential to preserving the safety of space 
activities for all. Basic collision avoidance information services are and 
should continue to be provided free of direct user fees. The imminent 
activation of more sensitive tracking sensors is expected to reveal a 
significantly greater population of the existing orbital debris background 
as well as provide an improved ability to track currently catalogued 
objects. Current and future satellites, including large constellations of 
satellites, will operate in a debris environment much denser than presently 
tracked. Preventing on-orbit collisions in this environment requires an 
information service that shares catalog data, predicts close approaches, 
and provides actionable warnings to satellite operators. The service should 
provide data to allow operators to assess proposed maneuvers to reduce 
risk. To provide on-orbit collision avoidance, the United States should:

 Provide services based on a continuously updated catalog of 
satellite tracking data;

 Utilize automated processes for collision avoidance;

 Provide actionable and timely conjunction assessments; and

 Provide data to operators to enable assessment of maneuver plans.

                To ensure safe coordination of space traffic in this 
                future operating environment, and in recognition of the 
                need for DoD to focus on maintaining access to and 
                freedom of action in space, a civil agency should be 
                the focal point for this collision avoidance support 
                service. The Department of Commerce should be that 
                civil agency.

                    (c) Strategies for Space Traffic Management in a 
                Global Context.

(i) Protocols to Prevent Orbital Conjunctions. As increased satellite 
operations make lower Earth orbits more congested, the United States should 
develop a set of standard techniques for mitigating the collision risk of 
increasingly congested orbits, particularly for large constellations. 
Appropriate methods, which may include licensing assigned volumes for 
constellation operation and establishing processes for satellites passing 
through the volumes, are needed. The United States should explore 
strategies that will lead to the establishment of common global best 
practices, including:

 A common process addressing the volume of space used by a large 
constellation, particularly in close proximity to an existing 
constellation;

 A common process by which individual spacecraft may transit 
volumes used by existing satellites or constellations; and

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 A set of best practices for the owner-operators of utilized 
volumes to minimize the long-term effects of constellation operations on 
the space environment (including the proper disposal of satellites, 
reliability standards, and effective collision avoidance).

(ii) Radio Frequency Spectrum and Interference Protection. Space traffic 
and RF spectrum use have traditionally been independently managed 
processes. Increased congestion in key orbital regimes creates a need for 
improved and increasingly dynamic methods to coordinate activities in both 
the physical and spectral domains, and may introduce new interdependencies. 
U.S. Government efforts in STM should address the following spectrum 
management considerations:

 Where appropriate, verify consistency between policy and existing 
national and international regulations and goals regarding global access 
to, and operation in, the RF spectrum for space services;

 Investigate the advantages of addressing spectrum in conjunction 
with the development of STM systems, standards, and best practices;

 Promote flexible spectrum use and investigate emerging 
technologies for potential use by space systems; and

 Ensure spectrum-dependent STM components, such as inter-satellite 
safety communications and active debris removal systems, can successfully 
access the required spectrum necessary to their missions.

(iii) Global Engagement. In its role as a major spacefaring nation, the 
United States should continue to develop and promote a range of norms of 
behavior, best practices, and standards for safe operations in space to 
minimize the space debris environment and promote data sharing and 
coordination of space activities. It is essential that other spacefaring 
nations also adopt best practices for the common good of all spacefaring 
states. The United States should encourage the adoption of new norms of 
behavior and best practices for space operations by the international 
community through bilateral and multilateral discussions with other 
spacefaring nations, and through U.S. participation in various 
organizations such as the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, 
International Standards Organization, Consultative Committee for Space Data 
Systems, and UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

                Sec. 6. Roles and Responsibilities. In furtherance of 
                the goals described in section 4 and the guidelines 
                described in section 5 of this memorandum, agencies 
                shall carry out the following roles and 
                responsibilities:

                    (a) Advance SSA and STM S&T. Members of the 
                National Space Council, or their delegees, shall 
                coordinate, prioritize, and advocate for S&T, SSA, and 
                STM, as appropriate, as it relates to their respective 
                missions. They should seek opportunities to engage with 
                the commercial sector and academia in pursuit of this 
                goal.
                    (b) Mitigate the Effect of Orbital Debris on Space 
                Activities.

(i) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA Administrator), in coordination with the Secretaries of State, 
Defense, Commerce, and Transportation, and the Director of National 
Intelligence, and in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), shall lead efforts to update the U.S. 
Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices and establish new guidelines 
for satellite design and operation, as appropriate and consistent with 
applicable law.

(ii) The Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation, in consultation with 
the Chairman of the FCC, will assess the suitability of incorporating these 
updated standards and best practices into their respective licensing 
processes, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.

                    (c) Encourage and Facilitate U.S. Commercial 
                Leadership in S&T, SSA, and STM. The Secretary of 
                Commerce, in coordination with the Secretaries of 
                Defense and Transportation, and the NASA Administrator, 
                shall lead

[[Page 28975]]

                efforts to encourage and facilitate continued U.S. 
                commercial leadership in SSA, STM, and related S&T.
                    (d) Provide U.S. Government-Derived Basic SSA Data 
                and Basic STM Services to the Public.

(i) The Secretaries of Defense and Commerce, in coordination with the 
Secretaries of State and Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and the 
Director of National Intelligence, should cooperatively develop a plan for 
providing basic SSA data and basic STM services either directly or through 
a partnership with industry or academia, consistent with the guidelines of 
sections 5(a)(ii) and 5(b)(ii) of this memorandum.

(ii) The Secretary of Defense shall maintain the authoritative catalog of 
space objects.

(iii) The Secretaries of Defense and Commerce shall assess whether 
statutory and regulatory changes are necessary to effect the plan developed 
under subsection (d)(i) of this section, and shall pursue such changes, 
along with any other needed changes, as appropriate.

                    (e) Improve SSA Data Interoperability and Enable 
                Greater SSA Data Sharing.

(i) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretaries of 
State, Defense, and Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and the 
Director of National Intelligence, shall develop standards and protocols 
for creation of an open architecture data repository to improve SSA data 
interoperability and enable greater SSA data sharing.

(ii) The Secretary of Commerce shall develop options, either in-house or 
through partnerships with industry or academia, assessing both the 
technical and economic feasibility of establishing such a repository.

(iii) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that release of data regarding 
national security activities to any person or entity with access to the 
repository is consistent with national security interests.

                    (f) Develop Space Traffic Standards and Best 
                Practices. The Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and 
                Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of 
                State, the NASA Administrator, and the Director of 
                National Intelligence, and in consultation with the 
                Chairman of the FCC, shall develop space traffic 
                standards and best practices, including technical 
                guidelines, minimum safety standards, behavioral norms, 
                and orbital conjunction prevention protocols related to 
                pre-launch risk assessment and on-orbit collision 
                avoidance support services.
                    (g) Prevent Unintentional Radio Frequency 
                Interference. The Secretaries of Commerce and 
                Transportation, in coordination with the Secretaries of 
                State and Defense, the NASA Administrator, and the 
                Director of National Intelligence, and in consultation 
                with the Chairman of the FCC, shall coordinate to 
                mitigate the risk of harmful interference and promptly 
                address any harmful interference that may occur.
                    (h) Improve the U.S. Domestic Space Object 
                Registry. The Secretary of State, in coordination with 
                the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and 
                Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and the 
                Director of National Intelligence, and in consultation 
                with the Chairman of the FCC, shall lead U.S. 
                Government efforts on international engagement related 
                to international transparency and space object registry 
                on SSA and STM issues.
                    (i) Develop Policies and Regulations for Future 
                U.S. Orbital Operations. The Secretaries of Defense, 
                Commerce, and Transportation, in coordination with the 
                Secretary of State, the NASA Administrator, and the 
                Director of National Intelligence, shall regularly 
                evaluate emerging trends in space missions to recommend 
                revisions, as appropriate and necessary, to existing 
                SSA and STM policies and regulations.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

[[Page 28976]]

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (d) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and 
                directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, June 18, 2018

[FR Doc. 2018-13521
Filed 6-20-18; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3510-07-P