On February 12, Director Kevin O’Connell of the Office of Space Commerce testified before the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing on “Space Missions of Global Importance: Planetary Defense, Space Weather Protection, and Space Situational Awareness.” Below is his opening…
On May 14, Director Kevin O’Connell of the Office of Space Commerce testified before the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing on “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges.” He stated that the future space operating environment will…
On April 9, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross delivered a keynote address at the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, CO. Among other things, he announced that the Departments of Commerce and State will co-host a Space Enterprise Summit on…
On March 13, 2019, Kevin O’Connell of the Office of Space Commerce testified before the Senate Commerce Committee for a hearing on “The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier.” Below is his opening statement as…
On October 15, 2018, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross submitted to Congress a legislative proposal to establish a new Bureau of Space Commerce headed by an Assistant Secretary for Space Commerce. Download legislative proposal (PDF) Download section-by-section analysis (PDF) Section-by-Section…
Yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued a statement regarding the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 2809, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act. View statement The stated purpose of the bill is (1) to enhance the existing…
On April 18, President Trump signed the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. Section 302 authorizes the Commerce Department to enter into agreements for commercial weather data purchases and hosted payload arrangements. The legislation requires NOAA to prepare…
We posted a report on how NOAA plans to execute the Commercial Weather Data Pilot (CWDP) program. Based on the findings of recent market research and FAR processes (e.g., Requests For Information), NOAA has selected GNSS-RO as the most suitable…
The President’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request for NOAA, released February 9, includes $2 million for the Office of Space Commerce, a $1.4 million increase compared to its current funding level. The funds will increase the capacity of the office…
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Section 1261 of the law repeals the 1999 legislation that placed satellites and related items under the strict rules of the International Traffic in…