Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Commerce Department have to do with space?

Most people think of NASA and scientific exploration when they think of space. However, there is a great deal of money being made in space by companies providing commercial services such as telecommunications, satellite navigation, earth observation, and space transportation.

The Office of Space Commercialization was established at the Commerce Department to provide a voice for the U.S. commercial space industry within government policy discussions affecting space. The Office works to ensure that U.S. government policies support and do not impede the growth of U.S. commercial space companies, and that there is a level playing field on which these companies can compete internationally.

In addition to promoting space business, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates a number of meteorological satellites used around the world for weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. These are the same satellites that produce the images commonly seen on TV weather reports. NOAA also licenses the operation of commercial imaging satellites used for mapping, agriculture, and other applications.

How long has the Office of Space Commercialization been in operation?

The Office has been operating since 1988, when Commerce Secretary William Verity established it within the Office of the Secretary to support the now-defunct National Space Council. Its original name was the Office of Space Commerce, but it was later called the Office of Air & Space Commercialization. Congress renamed it again in 1998 as the Office of Space Commercialization after it had been transferred to the Technology Administration. The Office was transferred to NOAA in 2005 in response to further congressional action. Additional details can be found here.

Does the Office publish commercial space market forecasts?

The Office of Space Commercialization occasionally publishes economic analyses and/or forecasts on the commercial space industry. The most recent study was documented in a article in Inside GNSS magazine quantifying the projected benefits of certain next-generation GPS capabilities (July/August 2006).

In June 2001, the Office produced the Trends in Space Commerce report, providing near-term projections for the commercial space industry. The report focused on four key sectors within the industry: space transportation; satellite communications; space-based remote sensing; and satellite navigation.