Office of Space Commerce

The Office of Space Commerce is a unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is the principal unit for space commerce policy activities within the department. Its mission is to support the economic growth and technological progress of the U.S. commercial space industry. The office is based at the Herbert C. Hoover Building, 1401 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.

The office names three main functions. The first is space policy and industry advocacy. The second is commercial space remote sensing, handled by its Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs division. The third is space situational awareness, through the Traffic Coordination System for Space, known as TraCSS. Its vision is a competitive U.S. space industry.

Space debris and collision avoidance are a major theme on the site. The office promotes international cooperation on space situational awareness. A recent item reports a joint study by the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking group and TraCSS on sharing operational information.

Other news covers a new five million dollar initiative called Project Constellation, announced at a U.S. Space Forum in Vienna to build partnerships with other countries on space activities. The office also joined a new ASTM standards group on space biotech, pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing payloads. It takes part in space technical standards work and spoke about it on a podcast.

The office is asking for proposals for a study of metrics used to measure the U.S. space economy. Its contact page lists separate teams for general questions, TraCSS, acquisitions and remote sensing. Visitors can send a speaking request, ask for a meeting or join a mailing list. A job announcements page is also on the site.