Today, the Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce published a report on the department’s space commerce accomplishments under the Biden-Harris Administration. 

A message from Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of Commerce

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of Commerce has taken many concrete actions to promote the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. commercial space sector. The Department’s strategic objective to “advance U.S. leadership in the global commercial space industry” makes the lives of American citizens easier every day. Critical space services – from communications and navigation to precision agriculture and disaster preparedness--support 347,000 private-sector jobs that accounted for $131.8 billion (0.5 percent) of our GDP in 2022.

Throughout the Administration, we have grown commercial partnerships and trade, broadened the workforce, increased industry participation, and protected U.S. satellite interests. All the while, the Department continued to operate its own space systems to observe and predict critical weather phenomena. The best is ahead for this vibrant American industry, and the Department of Commerce will continue to contribute to its growth and success.

Prioritized Space Commerce Within the Department

To focus the Department on space, Deputy Secretary Don Graves established a Commercial Space Coordinating Committee that regularly engaged the bureau heads in space discussions. The Department consolidated and uplifted offices that advocate for and enable the space industry. The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) moved into the front office of NOAA, raising its profile within the Department to better support the Under Secretary and Office of the Secretary. The Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs office that authorizes U.S. imaging satellites merged into OSC. NOAA also established an independent Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space (ACES) providing expert views from industry stakeholders on policy, regulatory, and operational issues.

Streamlined Space Regulations

The Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) provided significant regulatory relief to the U.S. space industry, particularly when exporting spacecraft and related items to U.S. allies and partners by streamlining relevant export controls. BIS worked with the State Department to release draft rules that promise even further streamlining for space exporters in 2025. Meanwhile, NOAA implemented streamlined procedures for its licensing of commercial remote sensing satellites, reducing approval timelines to an average of 21 days. NOAA began developing an online portal to further improve license processing. NOAA eliminated dozens of conditions from its licenses that had previously restricted U.S. remote sensing firms from operating at their full capability. Each regulatory move improved U.S. industry’s ability to compete for global business. 

In an effort to provide regulatory certainty for future space commerce, the Department participated in the development of the Administration’s U.S. Novel Space Activities Authorization and Supervision Framework and related legislation.

Established a Modern Space Traffic Safety System

The Department made major strides to address problems of space safety and sustainability as Earth’s orbits become increasingly congested with traffic and hazardous debris. In September 2024, NOAA’s Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) entered service for an initial set of users representing about 1,000 operational satellites. TraCSS is a modern, cloud-based IT system providing safety notifications of potential in-space collisions to satellite operators. 

To reach this point, the Department spent years collaborating with the Department of Defense (DoD), which has provided such notifications since the 2000s but is migrating this responsibility to DOC. NOAA’s OSC conducted a series of pilots and pathfinder projects with commercial space situational awareness (SSA) companies to inform the development of TraCSS, which is designed to leverage commercial data, software, and services. In support of the emerging partnership between TraCSS and the private sector, OSC contracted with commercial firms to establish the cloud infrastructure for TraCSS, develop the software backbone, and provide a public website and interface. OSC regularly engaged with stakeholders through multiple RFIs, public listening sessions, and CEO roundtables to receive feedback and ensure TraCSS meets user needs.

Initiated Global Dialogue on Space Traffic Coordination

The Department promoted international coordination to minimize the risk of conflicting space traffic safety information. In April 2024, OSC released its vision for Global Space Situational Awareness Coordination of a global, coordinated system of SSA providers, with a series of national or regional hubs providing SSA information and services to spacecraft operators. To take initial steps toward international SSA coordination, the OSC conducted a joint analysis with the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) program to compare the SSA services provided by TraCSS and EU SST, respectively, and published the results at the 2024 Advanced Maui Optical Surveillance (AMOS) Conference.

Encouraged International Space Business Partnerships & Trade

The Department organized and led international commercial space dialogues with multiple nations to promote business partnerships and strengthen diplomatic ties. The list of nations engaged includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, and Singapore, as well as nations from the African Union.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) promoted U.S. aerospace trade interests as the industry faced mounting competition from abroad. During 2021-2024, ITA’s Advocacy Center managed dozens of active space-related cases and supported contract wins with a total value of billions of dollars, supporting tens of thousands of U.S. jobs. ITA organized panels at its annual SelectUSA Investment Summit to encourage foreign investment in the U.S. space industry.

Measured the U.S. Space Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published a series of annual statistics quantifying the U.S. space economy in terms of contributions to GPD, employment, and other key measures. These data publications provided a definitive baseline and trends to inform decision makers in government and industry. BEA held a workshop in 2024 to receive stakeholder feedback for improving its statistical model. To provide actionable insights into the health of the U.S. space supply chain, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) conducted a civil space industrial base assessment, collecting data from over 1,700 U.S. space companies and suppliers. To analyze trends in commercial space innovation, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) conducted a review of space-related patents.

Supported Space-Related Intellectual Property

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) supported commercial space innovation through stakeholder initiatives aimed at reducing barriers to the intellectual property landscape. These included a working group on accelerating commercial space innovation, IP seminars at the 2023 Paris Airshow, and an international dialogue focused on the intersection of IP and the expanding commercial space sector. The dialogue provided in-depth discussion of the convergence of IP and space law, as well as challenges and opportunities for commercial space startups and small/medium-sized enterprises.

Advanced Cybersecurity for Space Systems

To enhance the resiliency of U.S. commercial space systems, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued guidelines applying the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to commercial satellite operations, satellite ground segments, hybrid satellite networks, and positioning, navigation, and timing systems. NIST also worked with other agencies to advance zero-trust architecture implementation. NIST and NOAA/OSC co-hosted a series of symposia to increase the space community’s awareness of cyber risks and solutions.

Promoted Technical Standards for Space Development

NIST and NOAA/OSC actively participated in working groups of international standards bodies to develop and promulgate technical standards for space activities. These include standards for space traffic coordination, which inform the data standards for OSC’s TraCSS. In 2024, NIST hosted/co-hosted a series of international space standards workshops in Washington that brought together experts in space communications and navigation to develop a multi-national approach to interoperability, including on and around the Moon.

Promoted Satellite Spectrum Access and Connectivity

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) promoted and enabled space-based connectivity in the United States and globally. At the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunications Union, NTIA helped advance the global standing of the U.S. satellite and space industries by securing favorable outcomes on spectrum access, orbital access, and space sustainability. NTIA also paved the way for growth in the commercial space sector by successfully coordinating more than 1,000 FCC applications for satellites, earth stations, launches, and other space uses, thereby allowing both federal and commercial missions to thrive.

Operated Environmental Satellites to Protect the Public and Monitor Earth

As the number and intensity of severe weather events reached record highs, NOAA’s satellites collected environmental observations that helped forecasters make predictions that saved lives and property. The satellite data was vital to tracking hurricanes and other severe storms, droughts, fires, volcanic eruptions, floods, and space weather. NOAA launched two next-generation GOES-R Series satellites and the NOAA-21 polar-orbiting satellite, greatly improving the precision of its monitoring and forecasts to protect not only the public, but also ecosystems such as coral reefs. NOAA achieved significant milestones in its design and acquisition of future satellite capabilities, including the GeoXO system, QuickSounder project, Space Weather Next L5 and L1 Series projects, and Space Weather Follow-On mission. NOAA also developed new AI tools to detect fires from satellite data, helping reduce response times for fire managers. 

Fostered Diversity and Opportunity in the Space Industry

The Department engaged in a number of initiatives intended to broaden participation in the space industry workforce and supplier base in order to sustain the rapid growth of the U.S. space economy. The Department collaborated with multiple organizations focused on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the space community. Deputy Secretary Don Graves hosted a Women’s History Month event celebrating women in space commerce, participated in a Black Space Week event highlighting African American contributions to space, and hosted a joint summit of the Patti Grace Smith and Brooke Owens Fellowship programs that advance DEI in the space industry. At the AIAA ASCEND 2024 conference, NOAA/OSC cosponsored the Diverse Dozen event programming, which highlighted underrepresented voices to promote DEI in the space community. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) partnered with NASA to connect minority business enterprises to NASA acquisition and development opportunities, boosting equitable participation in the space economy.

Leveraged Commercial Space Capabilities for Weather Observation

NOAA made various commercial satellite data buys that improved its weather forecasts while supporting the development of commercial markets. In 2021-2024, NOAA placed seven data orders for radio occultation satellite data to enhance forecasting accuracy and effectiveness. NOAA also bought commercial satellite data to evaluate its ability to meet other requirements, including for space weather, ocean surface winds, and microwave sounding.