The year 2020 was an exciting one for the rapidly growing commercial space industry. It included two missions transporting a total of six astronauts to the International Space Station and the return of a satellite launching rocket booster to Earth in a parachute-aided ocean splashdown. With safety being an overarching concern, policy developments included an update of the Federal Communications Commission orbital debris mitigation rules, streamlined rules on licensing requirements for commercial space transportation launches and reentries from the Federal Aviation Administration, and the issuance of a Congressionally-directed report by the National Academy of Public Administration which reaffirmed the Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce as the best suited civil agency to perform space traffic management tasks.
For its part, the White House has issued a number of space policy directives aimed at reinvigorating America's human space exploration program, streamlining regulations on the commercial use of space, and calling for the development of national space traffic management standards and best practices.
ANSI held an informational meeting, Standardization and the Commercial Space Industry – Space Situational and Domain Awareness, Space Traffic Coordination and Management, and Orbital Debris Mitigation, on December 7, 2020, which built on priority discussions identified in an initial stakeholder meeting in January 2020. The purpose of the virtual meeting was to raise awareness of relevant policy and standardization activity relating to these topics and the growing commercial space industry, and to facilitate dialogue on coordination and participation in standards setting.
The meeting drew close to 300 attendees from the United States and 17 other countries. Subject-matter experts from government, industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia exchanged information on relevant policy instruments, industry standards, and best practices. Speakers remarked on the fast rate at which the commercial space industry is growing and the need for standards and best practices to keep pace with this momentum. It was generally acknowledged that achieving a safe and sustainable space ecosystem is going to require both the public and private sectors working together on these issues.
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