[[{“value”:”
TOKYO — An industry coalition is asking congressional appropriators to reject the administration’s proposal to terminate the Commerce Department’s space traffic coordination system.
In letters sent July 7 to the leadership of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees that fund the Commerce Department, seven industry groups asked appropriators to fund the Office of Space Commerce’s Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, at the $65 million allocated for it in 2025 rather than zero it out as the administration requested in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.
The office is currently beta-testing TraCSS, which will provide basic space safety services to satellite operators that the Defense Department has handled. Space Policy Directive 3 in 2018 instructed the Commerce Department to take over that responsibility to allow the DOD to focus on its national security mission.
“Keeping space traffic coordination within the Department of Commerce preserves military resources for core defense missions and prevents the conflation of space safety with military control – critical to U.S. leadership in setting international standards and norms for space activities,” the letter stated.
“Without funding for space traffic coordination, U.S. commercial and government satellite operators would face greater risks – putting critical missions in harm’s way, raising the cost of doing business, and potentially driving U.S. industry to relocate overseas,” the organizations added.
The letter, copies of which were also sent to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, was signed by the Aerospace Industries Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Commercial Space Federation, Commercial SSA Coalition, National Security Space Association, Satellite Industry Association and Space Data Association.
The groups represent more than 450 companies, said Audrey Schaffer, vice president of policy and strategy at Slingshot Aerospace, in an interview. She spoke on behalf of the Commercial SSA Coalition, a group of companies in the space situational awareness sector that are working together to communicate the importance of issues like continuing TraCSS.
She said industry believes that, if TraCSS is no longer funded, responsibility for space traffic coordination would revert to the DOD.
“Something that we’re hearing from satellite operators is that the services that DOD provides are increasingly falling short and unable to meet the demands as the industry just explodes in terms of numbers of objects, types of companies, types of applications in space,” she said. “It’s really important to invest in the future of space traffic coordination through the Office of Space Commerce to take advantage of the leading technologies available in the private sector.”
Exactly why the administration is proposing to defund TraCSS remains a mystery. “The number one thing we’re trying to find out is who actually advocated for this to be cut,” said Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Space Federation, in an interview. “We haven’t been able to find someone willing to raise their hand and say why they cut this.”
He noted the proposal to kill TraCSS clashed with the administration’s effort to revamp the nation’s air traffic control system. “With all the energy being paid right now on air traffic control,” he said, “we’re going to cut funding for one of the most consequential space traffic management tools that is out there. It just makes no sense.”
The letters come as Congress prepares to mark up its versions of commerce, justice and science (CJS) funding bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up its CJS spending bill July 10. The House Appropriations Committee had also planned to consider its CJS bill this week, but a change in the House schedule postponed those sessions, which have not yet been rescheduled.
“I’m hearing optimism that there will be some money put back in the budget,” Cavossa said. “I’m just not sure what that’s going to be yet, and that’s why we continue to fight right now to make sure that this is at the top of everybody’s mind during markups.”
One issue for industry is what happens if Congress only partially funds TraCSS, short of the $65 million received in 2025. Reduced funding, said Schaffer, probably would not result in efficiencies by relying more on private capabilities but could in fact be counterproductive for the commercial SSA industry.
“It’s actually the private sector data and software that is probably the first thing that’ll get cut if the program isn’t fully funded,” she said.
“}]]
Source: Read More