Request for Information on Commercial Capabilities in Space Situational Awareness Data and Space Traffic Management Services, 14645-14647 [2019-07169]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
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Agenda
I. Welcome
II. Approval of Minutes
III. Discussion: Racial Trauma and Civil
Rights
IV. Public Comment
V. Next Steps
VI. Adjournment
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days prior to the meeting because of the
exceptional circumstances of the federal
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Dated: April 8, 2019.
David Mussatt,
Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit.
[FR Doc. 2019–07219 Filed 4–10–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Office of the Secretary
RIN 0690–ZA03
Request for Information on
Commercial Capabilities in Space
Situational Awareness Data and Space
Traffic Management Services
Office of Space Commerce, U.S.
Department of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Commerce (Department), via the Office
of Space Commerce, seeks information
from interested parties on: Specific
capabilities commercial entities might
currently and in the future provide
through an open architecture data
repository to the public to enhance the
SUMMARY:
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space situational awareness (SSA) data
and the space traffic management (STM)
services the U.S. government currently
provides; SSA, STM, and orbital debris
mitigation best practices; and
perspectives on the appropriate
regulatory structures the Department
should adopt to drive the development
and responsible use of such SSA and
STM enhancements in order to protect
national interests and further encourage
U.S. commercial space investment.
Submit written comments on or
before May 13, 2019.
DATES:
The public may submit
written comments on issues addressed
in this Notice by either of the following
methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=DOC-2019-0001, click
the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete
the required fields, and enter or attach
your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Patrick Sullivan, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Room 53027, Washington, DC
20230.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by the Department. Comments sent by
any other method, to any other address
or individual, or received after the end
of the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are
a part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. The Department will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous).
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Sullivan, Office of Space
Commerce, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Room 53027, Washington, DC
20230; Psullivan@doc.gov; (202) 482–
6167. Please direct media inquiries to
Office of Public Affairs; via email to:
publicaffairs@doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00004
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Sfmt 4703
14645
I. Leveraging Commercial Innovation
To Enhance Existing Federal SSA/STM
Data
The President and the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) have taken
significant steps to ensure that the U.S.
continues to lead the world in
innovation and economic prosperity
from space operations, research, and
communications. On February 21, 2018,
in accordance with prior law and
practice, the National Space Council
recommended that the President make
the Department of Commerce
(Department) responsible for a variety of
commercial space regulatory functions.1
Similarly, the President recognized that
the U.S. ‘‘must set priorities for space
situational awareness (SSA) and [space
traffic management (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’’ and placed responsibility
for addressing commercial SSA and
STM services upon the Department.2
Nongovernmental SSA solutions are
being developed that could significantly
improve, beyond the current
provisioning of SSA data and limited
STM services by the Federal
government, the ability to detect and
characterize space objects and these
improvements could further enhance
integration of SSA and STM cooperation
between US government and nongovernmental space operators.
Reflective of these commercial
innovations, on June 18, 2018, the
President issued Space Policy
Directive–3, the National Space Traffic
Management Policy (SPD–3), charging
the Department to take significant
actions regarding commercial SSA and
STM services.3 While recognizing that
U.S. citizens, businesses, and national
interests depend heavily on space
technologies and space-based
capabilities, the President made clear
that the increasing congestion in space
threatens both current uses of space and
future investments to grow the space
economy.4 For the purposes of this RFI,
both SSA and STM are defined in
Section 2 of SPD–3.5
1 See Record of Decision, National Space Council,
NSpC ROD–2018–01 (Feb. 21, 2018), 5.
2 See Space Policy Directive–3, National Space
Traffic Management Policy, 83 FR 28969 (Jun. 21,
2018) (SPD–3).
3 See id.
4 See id. at 28969.
5 See id. at 28970 (defining SSA as ‘‘the
knowledge and characterization of space objects
Continued
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14646
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
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The President acknowledged the
critical existing SSA and STM function
the Department of Defense currently
provides: ‘‘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).’’ 6 The
President stated that, pursuant to 10
U.S.C. 2274, 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.7 The President directed
the Secretary and the Secretary of
Defense, in coordination with the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Transportation, the NASA
Administrator, and the Director of
National Intelligence, to develop a plan
for providing basic SSA data and basic
STM services either directly or through
a partnership with industry or
academia.8
However, the President cautioned that
the bounds of current Federal
capabilities are tested by the dramatic
increase in commercial space activity:
‘‘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 interest.’’ 9 The President also
emphasized the need to partner with
private industry to ‘‘develop a new
approach to [STM] that addresses
current and future operational risks’’
and ‘‘set priorities for [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.’’ 10
The President specifically noted the
promise commercial innovation holds
for enhanced SSA and STM: ‘‘As
and their operational environment to support safe,
stable, and sustainable space activities’’ and STM
as the planning, coordination, and on-orbit
synchronization of activities to enhance the safety,
stability, and sustainability of operations in the
space environment.’’
6 See id. at 28969.
7 See id.
8 Id. at 28975.
9 Id. at 28969.
10 Id.
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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.’’ 11 To realize
this promise, the President directed the
Department and other Federal agencies
to develop a number of initiatives that
will leverage publicly available SSA and
STM data, spur commercial
development and use of enhanced SSA/
STM data, and develop procedures and
regulations, if necessary, to protect
national security and U.S commercial
assets in space. The President
established the following goals that the
Department and other agencies must
realize pursuant to his directive:
(a) Advance SSA and STM Science
and Technology (S&T);
(b) Mitigate the effect of orbital debris
on space activities;
(c) Encourage and facilitate U.S.
commercial leadership in S&T, SSA,
and STM;
(d) Provide U.S. governmentsupported basic SSA data and basic
STM services to the public;
(e) Develop STM standards and best
practices;
(f) Prevent unintentional radio
frequency (RF) interference;
(g) Improve the U.S. domestic space
object registry; and
(h) Develop policies and regulations
for future U.S. orbital operations.12
In order to meet the goals related to
leveraging non-governmental SSA and
STM capabilities, the Department issues
this Notice seeking stakeholder insight.
The insight obtained from this Notice
will drive the Department’s efforts to
make basic and enhanced SSA data and
STM services available to the public and
develop standards for responsible
commercial use of STM and SSA data
to protect national security and
commercial space investments.
II. Request for Comment
A. Commercial Enhanced SSA/STM
Capabilities
The President required the
Department to develop the standards
and protocols for creation of an open
architecture SSA/STM data repository
to facilitate greater data sharing with
satellite operators and enable the
commercial development of enhanced
space safety services. The repository
must include:
(1) Data integrity measures to ensure
data accuracy and availability;
(2) Data standards to ensure sufficient
quality from diverse sources;
11 Id.
at 28972.
id. at 28973.
12 See
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Frm 00005
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(3) Measures to safeguard proprietary
or sensitive data, including national
security information;
(4) The inclusion of satellite owneroperator ephemerides to inform orbital
location and planned maneuvers; and
(5) Standardized formats to enable
development of applications to leverage
the data.13
To facilitate the development of this
open architecture data repository, the
Department seeks public input on key
aspects of current and future nongovernmental SSA and STM products,
technologies, and approaches that will
enhance current publicly available SSA
data and STM services. Specifically, the
Department seeks information on:
(1) In the context of SPD–3, 14 what
specific capabilities could commercial
entities currently provide through an
open architecture data repository to
enhance the limited STM services and
SSA data the U.S. government provides
to the public? These capabilities can
include, but not are not limited to,
developments in sensing, analytics,
visualization, data sharing, and data
management.
(2) How will those commercial
capabilities, servicing both governmentsponsored and non-governmentsponsored activities change in the next
10 years, and what emerging
commercial capabilities will develop in
that time?
(3) What attributes of an open
architecture STM/SSA data repository
are essential to providing accurate data
to mitigate risk of collision and enable
SSA and STM services?
(4) What service-oriented open
architecture data repository models and
examples should guide the Department
as it develops the open architecture
SSA/STM data repository? These
models and examples should highlight
maximum use and exploration across
sensitive, multidimensional data
sources and tools while protecting any
sensitivity of these data.
(5) What STM-related incentives, such
as regulatory approaches to orbital
debris mitigation, will encourage
industry to make America their flag of
choice for commercial space activities?
13 See
id.
Department acknowledges that, in 2016,
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released
a report on commercial STM and SSA data, titled:
‘‘Evaluating Options for Civil Space Situational
Awareness (SSA)’’. The report can be found at
https://www.ida.org/idamedia/Corporate/Files/
Publications/STPIPubs/2016/P-8038.pdf. The
Department appreciates the FAA’s work on this
report and will collaborate further with the FAA to
complement stakeholder’s input into this inquiry
with this report’s relevant findings.
14 The
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
(6) What actions will strengthen
partnerships in effective development of
SSA and STM services?
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B. STM, SSA, and Orbital Debris
Mitigation Best Practices
The President made clear that, alone,
the SSA/STM open architecture data
repository will not sufficiently protect
U.S. national and commercial interests
in space; minimum safety standards and
best practices must be adopted in the
United States and globally to utilize
SSA/STM data to mitigate risk of
collision and address the growing
orbital debris issue threatening current
and future space operation. The
President directed the Department to
lead a global effort to develop minimum
safety standards and best practices that
promote safe and responsible behavior
in space.15 Already, the Department is
considering national and international
activities, such as those under
development in the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)
and the Consultative Committee for
Space Data Systems (CCSDS).
To develop these space traffic
standards and best practices, the
Department seeks information on:
(1) In the context of enhanced SSA/
STM data, what best practices, technical
guidelines, minimum safety standards,
behavioral norms, and orbital
deconfliction protocols should be
adopted by the United States? Of these,
are there any that should only be
adopted in the United States if they are
also adopted globally? If globally, what
is the appropriate forum for such
adoption?
(2) What pre-launch and on-orbit
collision avoidance support services or
technologies exist that will mitigate risk
of collision, and improve situational
awareness, and how should they be
incorporated into best practices?
(3) What U.S. actions might
incentivize global adherence to SSA/
STM standards and compliance with
space treaty obligations?
(4) What research methods for
tracking whether international
commercial entities are implementing
such standards and best practices will
assist in facilitating global adoption of a
standards set of SSA/STM best
practices?
C. Appropriate SSA/STM-Related
Regulations To Spur U.S. Space
Commerce
In coalescing his SSA/STM directives
into specific agency actions, the
President required the Secretaries of
Defense, Commerce, and
15 See
id. at 28970.
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Transportation, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, the NASA
Administrator, and the Director of
National Intelligence, to regularly
evaluate emerging trends in space
missions and recommend revisions, as
appropriate and necessary, to existing
SSA and STM policies and
regulations.16
The Department is actively engaged
internally and in coordination with
other agencies to assess how existing
regulations related to STA/SSM and
orbital debris mitigation are working
and what changes are needed to
implement the President’s Space Policy
Directives. To further inform
Department regarding the policies or
regulations needed to protect Federal
and commercial space interests and
enable significant growth in U.S. space
commerce investment, the Department
seeks information on:
(1) What existing policies and
regulations, across agencies, positively
and negatively enhance SSA/STM use
and related orbital debris mitigation? 17
(2) How do such existing policies and
regulations encourage U.S. and allied
space commerce investment, and how
should they be revised?
(3) What emerging trends in space
missions and proposed commercial
spaceflight activity, including spacecraft
safety standards, protection
requirements, satellite tracking
standards, and satellite control
standards, impact existing and future
SSA and STM policies and regulations?
How should these trends drive revision
to those policies and regulations?
(4) How can the proper regulatory
environment drive a space activity
insurance market that encourages
investment?
(5) What, if anything, should the
Federal government do to encourage
insurance parameters for space activities
that will encourage responsible space
activities and make the U.S. the flag of
choice for leading space innovators?
(6) Are there any other policies or
regulations that the Department should
consider in the context of SSA, STM,
and orbital debris mitigation in order to
promote the United States as the flag of
choice for space commerce?
(7) What specific capabilities and
technologies could commercial entities
provide to characterize the small,
millimeter-sized orbital debris
population to improve the orbital debris
impact risk assessments to support the
16 See
id. at 28976.
the extent commenters discuss any existing
or proposed regulations of another agency, the
Department will provide those comments to the
agency referenced.
17 To
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Frm 00006
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Sfmt 4703
14647
development and implementation of
cost-effective protective measures for
the safe operations of future space
missions?
III. Request for Public Comment and Ex
Parte Communications
The Department invites public
comment on any and all issues
identified in this Notice. Any nonpublic oral presentation to the
Department regarding the substance of
this Notice will be considered an ex
parte presentation, and the substance of
the meeting will be placed on the public
record and become part of this docket.
No later than two (2) business days after
an oral presentation or meeting, an
interested party must submit a
memorandum to OSC summarizing the
substance of the communication and
attaching any documents presented in
the meeting. The Department reserves
the right to supplement the
memorandum with additional
information as necessary, or to request
that the party making the filing do so,
if the Department believes that
important information was omitted or
characterized incorrectly. Any written
presentation provided in support of the
oral communication or meeting will also
be placed on the public record and
become part of this docket. Such ex
parte communications must be
submitted to this docket as provided in
the ADDRESSES section above and clearly
labeled as an ex parte presentation.
Federal entities are not subject to these
procedures.
Kevin O’Connell,
Director, Office of Space Commerce, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2019–07169 Filed 4–8–19; 11:15 am]
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Laminated Woven Sacks From the
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Enforcement and Compliance,
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
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laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the
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AGENCY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14645-14647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07169]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Office of the Secretary
RIN 0690-ZA03
Request for Information on Commercial Capabilities in Space
Situational Awareness Data and Space Traffic Management Services
AGENCY: Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Department), via the Office
of Space Commerce, seeks information from interested parties on:
Specific capabilities commercial entities might currently and in the
future provide through an open architecture data repository to the
public to enhance the space situational awareness (SSA) data and the
space traffic management (STM) services the U.S. government currently
provides; SSA, STM, and orbital debris mitigation best practices; and
perspectives on the appropriate regulatory structures the Department
should adopt to drive the development and responsible use of such SSA
and STM enhancements in order to protect national interests and further
encourage U.S. commercial space investment.
DATES: Submit written comments on or before May 13, 2019.
ADDRESSES: The public may submit written comments on issues addressed
in this Notice by either of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=DOC-2019-0001, click the ``Comment
Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your
comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Patrick Sullivan, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 53027,
Washington, DC 20230.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by the Department. Comments sent by any other method, to any
other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment
period, may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. The
Department will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Sullivan, Office of Space
Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Room 53027, Washington, DC 20230; [email protected]; (202) 482-6167.
Please direct media inquiries to Office of Public Affairs; via email
to: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Leveraging Commercial Innovation To Enhance Existing Federal SSA/STM
Data
The President and the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) have taken
significant steps to ensure that the U.S. continues to lead the world
in innovation and economic prosperity from space operations, research,
and communications. On February 21, 2018, in accordance with prior law
and practice, the National Space Council recommended that the President
make the Department of Commerce (Department) responsible for a variety
of commercial space regulatory functions.\1\ Similarly, the President
recognized that the U.S. ``must set priorities for space situational
awareness (SSA) and [space traffic management (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'' and
placed responsibility for addressing commercial SSA and STM services
upon the Department.\2\ Nongovernmental SSA solutions are being
developed that could significantly improve, beyond the current
provisioning of SSA data and limited STM services by the Federal
government, the ability to detect and characterize space objects and
these improvements could further enhance integration of SSA and STM
cooperation between US government and non-governmental space operators.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Record of Decision, National Space Council, NSpC ROD-
2018-01 (Feb. 21, 2018), 5.
\2\ See Space Policy Directive-3, National Space Traffic
Management Policy, 83 FR 28969 (Jun. 21, 2018) (SPD-3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflective of these commercial innovations, on June 18, 2018, the
President issued Space Policy Directive-3, the National Space Traffic
Management Policy (SPD-3), charging the Department to take significant
actions regarding commercial SSA and STM services.\3\ While recognizing
that U.S. citizens, businesses, and national interests depend heavily
on space technologies and space-based capabilities, the President made
clear that the increasing congestion in space threatens both current
uses of space and future investments to grow the space economy.\4\ For
the purposes of this RFI, both SSA and STM are defined in Section 2 of
SPD-3.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See id.
\4\ See id. at 28969.
\5\ See id. at 28970 (defining SSA as ``the knowledge and
characterization of space objects and their operational environment
to support safe, stable, and sustainable space activities'' and STM
as the planning, coordination, and on-orbit synchronization of
activities to enhance the safety, stability, and sustainability of
operations in the space environment.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 14646]]
The President acknowledged the critical existing SSA and STM
function the Department of Defense currently provides: ``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).'' \6\ The President stated
that, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2274, 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.\7\ The President
directed the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense, in coordination
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Transportation, the
NASA Administrator, and the Director of National Intelligence, to
develop a plan for providing basic SSA data and basic STM services
either directly or through a partnership with industry or academia.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See id. at 28969.
\7\ See id.
\8\ Id. at 28975.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, the President cautioned that the bounds of current Federal
capabilities are tested by the dramatic increase in commercial space
activity: ``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 interest.'' \9\ The President also emphasized the need
to partner with private industry to ``develop a new approach to [STM]
that addresses current and future operational risks'' and ``set
priorities for [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.'' \10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Id. at 28969.
\10\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The President specifically noted the promise commercial innovation
holds for enhanced SSA and STM: ``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.'' \11\ To
realize this promise, the President directed the Department and other
Federal agencies to develop a number of initiatives that will leverage
publicly available SSA and STM data, spur commercial development and
use of enhanced SSA/STM data, and develop procedures and regulations,
if necessary, to protect national security and U.S commercial assets in
space. The President established the following goals that the
Department and other agencies must realize pursuant to his directive:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ Id. at 28972.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Advance SSA and STM Science and Technology (S&T);
(b) Mitigate the effect of orbital debris on space activities;
(c) Encourage and facilitate U.S. commercial leadership in S&T,
SSA, and STM;
(d) Provide U.S. government-supported basic SSA data and basic STM
services to the public;
(e) Develop STM standards and best practices;
(f) Prevent unintentional radio frequency (RF) interference;
(g) Improve the U.S. domestic space object registry; and
(h) Develop policies and regulations for future U.S. orbital
operations.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See id. at 28973.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to meet the goals related to leveraging non-governmental
SSA and STM capabilities, the Department issues this Notice seeking
stakeholder insight. The insight obtained from this Notice will drive
the Department's efforts to make basic and enhanced SSA data and STM
services available to the public and develop standards for responsible
commercial use of STM and SSA data to protect national security and
commercial space investments.
II. Request for Comment
A. Commercial Enhanced SSA/STM Capabilities
The President required the Department to develop the standards and
protocols for creation of an open architecture SSA/STM data repository
to facilitate greater data sharing with satellite operators and enable
the commercial development of enhanced space safety services. The
repository must include:
(1) Data integrity measures to ensure data accuracy and
availability;
(2) Data standards to ensure sufficient quality from diverse
sources;
(3) Measures to safeguard proprietary or sensitive data, including
national security information;
(4) The inclusion of satellite owner-operator ephemerides to inform
orbital location and planned maneuvers; and
(5) Standardized formats to enable development of applications to
leverage the data.\13\
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\13\ See id.
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To facilitate the development of this open architecture data
repository, the Department seeks public input on key aspects of current
and future non-governmental SSA and STM products, technologies, and
approaches that will enhance current publicly available SSA data and
STM services. Specifically, the Department seeks information on:
(1) In the context of SPD-3, \14\ what specific capabilities could
commercial entities currently provide through an open architecture data
repository to enhance the limited STM services and SSA data the U.S.
government provides to the public? These capabilities can include, but
not are not limited to, developments in sensing, analytics,
visualization, data sharing, and data management.
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\14\ The Department acknowledges that, in 2016, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) released a report on commercial STM
and SSA data, titled: ``Evaluating Options for Civil Space
Situational Awareness (SSA)''. The report can be found at https://www.ida.org/idamedia/Corporate/Files/Publications/STPIPubs/2016/P-8038.pdf. The Department appreciates the FAA's work on this report
and will collaborate further with the FAA to complement
stakeholder's input into this inquiry with this report's relevant
findings.
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(2) How will those commercial capabilities, servicing both
government-sponsored and non-government-sponsored activities change in
the next 10 years, and what emerging commercial capabilities will
develop in that time?
(3) What attributes of an open architecture STM/SSA data repository
are essential to providing accurate data to mitigate risk of collision
and enable SSA and STM services?
(4) What service-oriented open architecture data repository models
and examples should guide the Department as it develops the open
architecture SSA/STM data repository? These models and examples should
highlight maximum use and exploration across sensitive,
multidimensional data sources and tools while protecting any
sensitivity of these data.
(5) What STM-related incentives, such as regulatory approaches to
orbital debris mitigation, will encourage industry to make America
their flag of choice for commercial space activities?
[[Page 14647]]
(6) What actions will strengthen partnerships in effective
development of SSA and STM services?
B. STM, SSA, and Orbital Debris Mitigation Best Practices
The President made clear that, alone, the SSA/STM open architecture
data repository will not sufficiently protect U.S. national and
commercial interests in space; minimum safety standards and best
practices must be adopted in the United States and globally to utilize
SSA/STM data to mitigate risk of collision and address the growing
orbital debris issue threatening current and future space operation.
The President directed the Department to lead a global effort to
develop minimum safety standards and best practices that promote safe
and responsible behavior in space.\15\ Already, the Department is
considering national and international activities, such as those under
development in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS).
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\15\ See id. at 28970.
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To develop these space traffic standards and best practices, the
Department seeks information on:
(1) In the context of enhanced SSA/STM data, what best practices,
technical guidelines, minimum safety standards, behavioral norms, and
orbital deconfliction protocols should be adopted by the United States?
Of these, are there any that should only be adopted in the United
States if they are also adopted globally? If globally, what is the
appropriate forum for such adoption?
(2) What pre-launch and on-orbit collision avoidance support
services or technologies exist that will mitigate risk of collision,
and improve situational awareness, and how should they be incorporated
into best practices?
(3) What U.S. actions might incentivize global adherence to SSA/STM
standards and compliance with space treaty obligations?
(4) What research methods for tracking whether international
commercial entities are implementing such standards and best practices
will assist in facilitating global adoption of a standards set of SSA/
STM best practices?
C. Appropriate SSA/STM-Related Regulations To Spur U.S. Space Commerce
In coalescing his SSA/STM directives into specific agency actions,
the President required the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and
Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the NASA
Administrator, and the Director of National Intelligence, to regularly
evaluate emerging trends in space missions and recommend revisions, as
appropriate and necessary, to existing SSA and STM policies and
regulations.\16\
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\16\ See id. at 28976.
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The Department is actively engaged internally and in coordination
with other agencies to assess how existing regulations related to STA/
SSM and orbital debris mitigation are working and what changes are
needed to implement the President's Space Policy Directives. To further
inform Department regarding the policies or regulations needed to
protect Federal and commercial space interests and enable significant
growth in U.S. space commerce investment, the Department seeks
information on:
(1) What existing policies and regulations, across agencies,
positively and negatively enhance SSA/STM use and related orbital
debris mitigation? \17\
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\17\ To the extent commenters discuss any existing or proposed
regulations of another agency, the Department will provide those
comments to the agency referenced.
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(2) How do such existing policies and regulations encourage U.S.
and allied space commerce investment, and how should they be revised?
(3) What emerging trends in space missions and proposed commercial
spaceflight activity, including spacecraft safety standards, protection
requirements, satellite tracking standards, and satellite control
standards, impact existing and future SSA and STM policies and
regulations? How should these trends drive revision to those policies
and regulations?
(4) How can the proper regulatory environment drive a space
activity insurance market that encourages investment?
(5) What, if anything, should the Federal government do to
encourage insurance parameters for space activities that will encourage
responsible space activities and make the U.S. the flag of choice for
leading space innovators?
(6) Are there any other policies or regulations that the Department
should consider in the context of SSA, STM, and orbital debris
mitigation in order to promote the United States as the flag of choice
for space commerce?
(7) What specific capabilities and technologies could commercial
entities provide to characterize the small, millimeter-sized orbital
debris population to improve the orbital debris impact risk assessments
to support the development and implementation of cost-effective
protective measures for the safe operations of future space missions?
III. Request for Public Comment and Ex Parte Communications
The Department invites public comment on any and all issues
identified in this Notice. Any non-public oral presentation to the
Department regarding the substance of this Notice will be considered an
ex parte presentation, and the substance of the meeting will be placed
on the public record and become part of this docket. No later than two
(2) business days after an oral presentation or meeting, an interested
party must submit a memorandum to OSC summarizing the substance of the
communication and attaching any documents presented in the meeting. The
Department reserves the right to supplement the memorandum with
additional information as necessary, or to request that the party
making the filing do so, if the Department believes that important
information was omitted or characterized incorrectly. Any written
presentation provided in support of the oral communication or meeting
will also be placed on the public record and become part of this
docket. Such ex parte communications must be submitted to this docket
as provided in the ADDRESSES section above and clearly labeled as an ex
parte presentation. Federal entities are not subject to these
procedures.
Kevin O'Connell,
Director, Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2019-07169 Filed 4-8-19; 11:15 am]
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