Request for Information on Scope of Civil Space Situational Awareness Services, 4970-4973 [2023-01556]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4970-4973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01556]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID: 0648-XV190]


Request for Information on Scope of Civil Space Situational 
Awareness Services

AGENCY: Office of Space Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Department), via the Office 
of Space Commerce (OSC) in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), requests additional input from interested 
parties on OSC's currently planned scope of basic safety services to be 
provided via the Traffic Management System for Space (TraCSS) program. 
This input will inform OSC's development of capabilities to share SSA 
data, information and services to space operators and the public.

DATES: Responses are due on or before February 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and organizations should submit 
written comments on issues addressed in this notification by the 
following method:
     By Email to: [email protected]. Include the title of 
this Request for Information (RFI) in the subject line of the message.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Attachments will 
be accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats only. 
Respondents need not reply to all questions listed. Each individual or 
institution is requested to submit only one response. All comments 
received are part of the public record and may be posted, without 
change, on a Federal website. All identifying information (e.g., name, 
address) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly 
accessible. OSC, therefore, requests that no business proprietary 
information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable 
information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please note that the 
U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or for the use 
of any information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Dyer, Office of Space Commerce, 
(202) 482-4731; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    NOAA's Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is exploring the scope of a 
basic safety service for space situational awareness (SSA) services of 
active satellites and debris in preparation of future OSC SSA products. 
As described in Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3) (https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-13521) and the 2021 United States Space 
Priorities Framework (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/United-States-Space-Priorities-Framework-_-December-1-2021.pdf), OSC is charged providing basic SSA safety services to all 
space operators, including conjunction analysis and warning services 
and making those basic services free of direct user fees while 
supporting new opportunities for U.S. commercial and non-profit SSA 
services.
    SPD-3 proposed these services be part of an ``Open Architecture 
Data Repository'' which OSC will now refer to as TraCSS. TraCSS will 
provide satellite tracking data and associated products and services to 
support all private and civil space satellite owner/operators (O/Os). 
TraCSS will ingest the various available data sources and data types 
for analysis to support the tracking of debris and space objects. The 
scope of the initial operating capability, the basic safety service, is 
the primary subject of interest of this RFI.
    OSC greatly appreciated responses to prior RFIs, most recently from 
its RFI published on July 8, 2022 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/08/2022-14516/request-for-information-on-industry-needs-for-space-situational-awareness-data-and-value-added). Since that 
time, in addition to closely reviewing those responses, OSC has 
concluded a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Defense, 
formalizing the organizations' relationship for basic SSA, space 
traffic management (STM), and coordination for civil and commercial 
entities. OSC also initiated a pilot project to provide spaceflight 
safety mission assurance to select spacecraft in the medium Earth orbit 
(MEO) and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), partnering with the 
Department of Defense to award seven contracts to U.S. commercial space 
firms for space situational awareness data analysis.
    With this additional insight, OSC has further refined its planned 
SSA program. OSC has defined its view of the core U.S. Government 
interests in the provision of basic SSA safety services, and based on 
that principle, has outlined its anticipated basic SSA safety services 
and the appropriate mix of commercial and governmental resources to 
provide those services with greater granularity.
    In this RFI, OSC seeks public input broadly from the space 
community on OSC's definition of core U.S. Government interests in the 
provision of basic SSA safety services and its refined plan to meet 
those interests through the TraCSS, including from spacecraft 
operators, SSA data providers (current and prospective, ground and 
space-based), SSA analytic and value-added service providers, academia, 
nonprofit entities, space insurance providers, and the legal community.

II. Description of Basic Safety SSA Services

    OSC will provide basic SSA safety services through TraCSS to meet 
the core U.S. Government interest to further safety, stability, and 
sustainability in space and increase U.S. commercial leadership in 
space. Provision of these services is vital for the commercial growth 
of the American economy and to promote national security. These 
services can help reconcile the growing use of orbital space with the 
effective management of this domain.
    The scope of basic SSA safety services is limited to those 
necessary to maintain the safety, stability, and sustainability of the 
increasingly congested and contested space environment. Basic SSA 
safety services can include additional services that significantly 
increase the safety, stability, and sustainability of the space 
environment. However, OSC will also consider whether the provision of

[[Page 4971]]

such services will negatively impact the U.S. SSA industry. The precise 
demarcation between these basic SSA safety services and other advanced 
services is driven by present SSA needs and market dynamics. Given the 
rapid acceleration of technological advances, OSC is committed to 
continue to observe changes in the marketplace and its underlying 
technologies, and consider how these developments, along with SSA 
service needs, might shift the demarcation between basic and advanced 
services as time goes on. Where a service is judged to be a ``basic 
service,'' OSC is also interested in whether the service should be 
provided by the government or should be purchased by the government 
from a commercial vendor and redistributed to TraCSS users.
    The list of orbital safety services below derives from existing 
practices by the Department of Defense (DoD) and National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration (NASA), augmented by other services that 
commercial entities have previously proposed and responses to prior 
RFIs. ``Included'' indicates that a particular service is being 
considered for inclusion in the ``free of fee'' service through TraCSS 
that the OSC intends to provide to any satellite O/O willing to accept 
the tenets of participation (e.g., the sharing of O/O predicted 
ephemerides). ``Not Included'' indicates that a particular service is 
currently not being considered to be provided by the OSC through 
TraCSS.
    (1) Satellite Attributes, Capabilities, Status, and Point of 
Contact (Included). To maintain a database of primary (protected) 
assets, which contains basic satellite attributes (approximate 
dimensions, mass), indicates satellite trajectory change capabilities 
and current status, and includes 24/7/365 contact information to 
coordinate mitigation actions for conjunctions between active 
satellites.
    (2) Receipt and Sharing of Predictions O/Os Ephemerides (Included). 
To receive predicted ephemerides from O/Os, store them in a manner that 
makes them available for download by other interested O/Os, and use 
them as the representation of the primary object for collision 
assessments (CA) screenings, risk assessment, and (when appropriate) 
mitigation planning.
    (3) Routine Collision Assessment (CA) Screening and Conjunction 
Data Message (CDM) Production (Included). To screen primary objects 
against a robust satellite catalog, both routinely and on demand; and 
to generate CDMs for objects that violate the particular physical 
volumes used for the screening activity.
    (4) Special CA Screening and CDM Production (Included). To perform 
an on-demand screening against a robust satellite catalog for a 
particular submitted ephemeris or set of ephemerides (usually for a 
confirmatory or speculative screening as part of maneuver planning).
    (5) Data Quality Evaluation (Included). To perform a first-order 
evaluation of the orbit determination and propagation of the (usually 
secondary but in principle both) objects' state estimates and co-
variances in order to determine whether these inputs are of sufficient 
quality to serve as a basis for a durable risk assessment calculation
    (6) Launch Collision Avoidance (COLA) Screenings (Included). To 
perform timely screenings of a set of launch nominals against a robust 
satellite catalog in order to identify specific launch times during a 
launch window that would create unacceptably high collision risk and 
therefore should not be used.
    (7) O/O Ephemeris Generation and Curation with Covariance 
(Included). To use O/O telemetry and on-board global positioning system 
state information, as well as potentially other commercial tracking 
information, to generate a reliable predicted O/O ephemeris that 
includes covariance at each ephemeris point and incorporates planned 
maneuvers (and maneuver execution error).
    (8) Re-entry Management and Assessment (Included). To perform re-
entry forecasting and event pacing assistance for primary objects 
undergoing either natural decays or managed deorbits in order to assist 
the DoD in orchestrating the overall decay and decataloguing process.
    (9) Precision Probability of Collision Calculation (Included). To 
include in each generated CDM a Probability of Collision (PC) 
calculation that uses more advanced approaches for determining the 
appropriate hard-body radius (HBR) and employs a calculation technique 
appropriate to the particular dynamics of the encounter.
    (10) Collision Consequence and Debris Production Potentials 
(Included). To calculate, using an appropriate model, an estimate of 
the number of trackable debris fragments that would be generated if a 
particular conjunction were to result in a collision.
    (11) Conjunction Object Solution Improvements with Additional 
Tracking (Included). To obtain additional tracking on the satellites 
involved in conjunctions of interest (typically the secondary objects), 
improve these objects' predicted states at the conjunction time of 
closest approach (TCA), and calculate higher-fidelity risk assessment 
metrics with this improved information.
    (12) Expected Tracking Determination (Included). To generate a pass 
schedule and probabilities of detection for obtaining additional 
commercial tracking for conjunction-related objects, so that O/Os can 
infer the potential benefit of additional tracking and be able to 
schedule mitigation action decision points appropriately.
    (13) Risk Assessment Time History Plots (Included). To produce 
time-history plots of conjunction risk assessment parameters of 
interest to allow assessment of conjunction event phasing and 
stability.
    (14) Space Weather Sensitivity (Included). To provide warnings 
about space weather perturbative events and to assess the effects the 
perturbation-induced atmospheric density uncertainty will have on 
conjunction risk assessment parameters.
    (15) Fusion of CA Products (Not Included). To combine CA products, 
such as CDMs or predicted ephemerides, from multiple providers into a 
single, higher-fidelity product that can then be used to enable CA risk 
assessment.
    (16) PC Variability (Not Included). By considering bounding scale 
factors for the ``true'' size of the primary and secondary objects' 
covariances, to generate a matrix of possible PC values to allow risk 
assessors to assign a more conservative ``high-water-mark'' PC value.
    (17) Additional Concierge Services (Not Included). To provide on-
call, personalized telephone support at all times by CA subject matter 
experts to assist O/Os with the interpretation of conjunction screening 
and risk assessment products.
    (18) Anomaly Resolution (Not Included). To arrange for the 
obtaining and interpretation of anomaly resolution SSA products, such 
as point signatures (radar cross-section and/or photometry), time-
series satellite signatures, and radar and optical imaging.
    (19) Design-time Assistance for Improved CA (Not Included). During 
the satellite construction and mission design phase, to assist O/Os in 
the prudent selection of mission orbits, satellite construction 
decisions to produce favorable light pollution properties, and the 
proper build-out of effective O/O ephemeris construction and CA 
software and procedures.
    (20) Maneuver Trade Space (Not Included). To assemble a visual aid 
that identifies particular maneuver times and intensities (and, for 
some maneuver types, durations) to achieve the desired

[[Page 4972]]

level of conjunction risk reduction (for both the main conjunction and 
any other conjunctions that the particular maneuver might introduce).
    (21) Optimized Maneuver Recommendations (Not Included). In addition 
to the parameters in service (20) above, to include satellite contact 
restrictions, spacecraft maneuverability limitations, and O/O 
optimality preferences to construct a recommended maneuver plan to 
mitigate the main conjunction and ensure against the creation of any 
serious derivative conjunctions.
    (22) Breakup Detection, Tracking, and Cataloguing (Not Included). 
To commission routine surveillance tracking to detect satellite break-
ups; and upon the detection of a break-up, to increase supplementary 
surveillance tracking to collect break-up uncorrelated tracks (UCT), 
perform UCT processing, obtain dedicated tracking on new candidate 
objects, and suggest/perform cataloging actions for stable candidates 
for which the country of origin can be established.
    (23) Maneuver Detection and Processing (Not Included). To 
commission heightened surveillance tracking on maneuverable objects; 
execute maneuver detection algorithms against the tracking obtained 
from such heightened surveillance; and for objects for which maneuvers 
are detected, perform appropriate maneuver processing to create a 
durable post-maneuver state estimate.

III. Questions To Inform Development of Basic SSA Safety Services

    OSC seeks responses to three categories of questions, and invites 
any member of the public to provide input:
    A. Scope of Proposed Basic SSA Safety Services;
    B. Impacts of Proposed Basic SSA Safety Services on Commercial SSA 
Providers;
    C. Tenets of Participation and Receipt of Basic SSA Safety 
Services; and
    D. General Feedback.
    Respondents are encouraged to explain how the capabilities to be 
provided by OSC's TraCSS can be structured to enable a competitive and 
burgeoning U.S. commercial space sector. Responses may also explain how 
the U.S. Government can work with industry and international partners 
in the development of open, transparent, and credible international 
standards, policies, and practices that will aid in the provision of 
these basic SSA safety services.

A. Scope of Proposed Basic SSA Safety Services

    OSC seeks to clearly define and communicate the scope of basic 
safety SSA services to enable industry innovation of advanced services. 
OSC seeks responses regarding which SSA services should be included as 
part of TraCSS. OSC understands that the need to provide certain 
services through TraCSS may change over time. Similarly, some services 
may be necessary to include in the TraCSS initial offering only and 
others should be added in the future. For each of the services 
discussed above, OSC is seeking public input about whether the service 
should be included in TraCSS, and if so, whether it should be part of 
the initial offering or added in the future. Additionally, OSC seeks 
input on whether the services should be developed by the government or 
purchased from commercial vendors and redistributed. Furthermore, OSC 
invites comment on the following questions for each of the services:
     Does the proposed basic safety SSA service provide 
sufficient data to allow ongoing operations of orbital assets at a 
level equal to or beyond that currently provided by the DoD?
     What proposed basic safety SSA services are essential to 
your ongoing operations? If the U.S. Government were to prioritize the 
delivery of individual services as part of TraCSS, which ones should be 
provided soonest?
     What, if any, additional capabilities beyond those 
currently provided by the DoD should be included in the TraCSS?
     Are there any additional capabilities not listed that 
should be included in the basic SSA safety service to provide a 
baseline level of safety for owners and operators?
     Where applicable, at what level or how often should the 
service be performed? For example, comments may address how often 
routine collision assessments should be conducted as part of the basic 
SSA safety service. DoD currently provides these assessments three 
times a day. How often should OSC's basic safety SSA service provide 
these assessments?

B. Impacts of Proposed Basic SSA Safety Services on Commercial SSA 
Providers

    OSC's provision of basic SSA safety services through TraCSS is 
intended to advance safety, stability, and sustainability in space and 
help the domestic commercial SSA industry grow. OSC is evaluating the 
potential impacts that the basic SSA safety services provided through 
TraCSS may have on the commercial SSA industry. OSC is seeking public 
input on whether there are any concerns with respect to commercial SSA 
providers with their own services or other value-added providers that 
may rely on governmental SSA basic safety services. Furthermore, OSC 
invites comment on the following questions:
     Are any of the basic SSA safety services readily available 
from the current U.S. SSA industry? If so, is the service affordable to 
owners and operators of spacecraft?
     For commercial SSA service providers, does the current SSA 
capability offered by the DoD have any impacts on your current or 
future product offerings?
     For commercial SSA service providers, do any of the basic 
SSA safety services identified for inclusion in TraCSS have any impacts 
or implications on your current or future product offerings? If so, 
which services proposed to be part of TraCSS would have an impact on 
your offerings and why?
     For O/Os, are any of the basic SSA safety services 
identified for inclusion in TraCSS duplicative of what O/Os of 
spacecraft are already responsible for obtaining or providing?
     Are there unique advantages to the government purchasing 
and redistributing certain commercial services rather than leaving 
these to the commercial marketplace?

C. Tenets of Participation and Receipt of Basic SSA Safety Services

    OSC is seeking public input regarding what should be required to 
receive ``free of fee'' basic SSA safety services through TraCSS. OSC 
recognizes that certain basic SSA safety services should be made 
publicly available. For example, space objects from a current DoD 
catalog that are not sensitive to national security are currently made 
accessible to the public through the Space-Track.org website. OSC also 
recognizes that other basic SSA safety services should be available to 
all owners and operators. In response to previous RFIs, some comments 
suggested that OSC require owners and operators to provide operational 
information or act in good faith in response to the basic SSA safety 
services in order to participate in TraCSS. OSC also invites comment on 
the following questions:
     Which basic SSA safety services identified for inclusion 
in TraCSS should be made publicly available?
     What, if any, information should owners and operators of 
spacecraft be

[[Page 4973]]

required to provide to OSC to participate in TraCSS?
     What, if any, actions should owners and operators agree to 
take to participate in TraCSS as part of the tenets of participation?
     What should happen when owners or operators fail to 
provide the relevant information to OSC or fail to take actions 
consistent with the tenets of participation?

D. General Feedback

    OSC welcomes feedback about any other related topics. For example, 
are there any matters not discussed above that OSC should or must 
consider before it provides basic SSA safety services through TraCSS?

IV. How To Submit Your Response

    To facilitate review of your responses, please reference the 
subject of the RFI in your response. You may respond to some or all of 
the topic areas covered in the RFI, and you can suggest other factors 
or relevant questions. You may also include links to online material or 
interactive presentations. If including data sets, please make the data 
available in a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying 
metadata.
    Please note that this is an RFI only. In accordance with the 
implementing regulations of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
specifically 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4), this general solicitation is exempt 
from the PRA. Facts or opinions submitted in response to general 
solicitations of comments from the public, published in the Federal 
Register or other publications, regardless of the form or format 
thereof, provided that no person is required to supply specific 
information pertaining to the commenter, other than that necessary for 
self-identification, as a condition of the agency's full consideration, 
are not generally considered information collections and therefore not 
subject to the PRA.
    This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it 
does not constitute a request for proposals, applications, proposal 
abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government 
to contract for any supplies or services or make a grant award. 
Further, we are not seeking proposals through this RFI and will not 
accept unsolicited proposals. Choosing not to respond to this RFI does 
not preclude participation in any future procurement, if conducted.

    Dated: January 23, 2023.
Richard DalBello,
Director, Office of Space Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-01556 Filed 1-25-23; 8:45 am]
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