Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS)

NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is developing the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) to provide basic space situational awareness (SSA) data and services to civil and private space operators and to support spaceflight safety, space sustainability, and international coordination.

TraCSS will feature 3 distinct components:

TraCSS-OASIS: Data repository.
TraCSS-SKYLINE: SSA application services.
TraCSS-HORIZON: modeling, simulation, & research environment and development & test environment.

TracSS is being implemented in a phased “crawl, walk, run” development approach. With each phase, more commercial data and commercial SSA services will be integrated as core capabilities over time. This phased transition, coordinated across the U.S. Government, will help ensure there is no disruption in basic SSA safety services.

TraCSS phases:

Phase 1.0, on track for an October 2024 release, will focus on distributing TraCSS-produced conjunction data messages (CDMs) to a beta set of users, via the Space-Track.org interface, to avoid disruption to current spaceflight operations. Across Phase 1, as the TraCSS user interface, or “presentation layer,” matures, OSC will slowly transition the beta users from space-track.org to the TraCSS interface and ramp up migration of the rest of the space operator user base to TraCSS.
Phase 2, slated to initiate at the beginning of FY 2026, is focused on launch activities.
Phase 3 will focus on re-entry assessment and management, and other priority activities.

TraCSS Architecture:

SPOTLIGHT

Office of Space Commerce Announces New Commercial Pathfinder Project for TraCSS
Proposals Due September 16 at 12:00 EDT

The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) announces a new opportunity for commercial space situational awareness (SSA) companies to support the development of the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). Vendors are invited to participate in a TraCSS pathfinder project that will examine the efficacy of generating improved satellite ephemeris based on data provided by satellite owners/operators (O/O’s). OSC is investigating this capability to help inform quality standards for satellite ephemerides, and means of achieving those standards, for the system.

To initiate its Improved O/O Ephemeris Pathfinder, OSC placed three orders in the Global Data Marketplace for fulfillment by commercial SSA vendors:

An order to generate ephemerides for a given set of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO);
An order to generate ephemerides for a given set of satellites in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO); and
An order for two companies to provide data quality monitoring services related to the above two orders.

Vendors have until Monday, September 16, at 12:00 noon EDT, to provide proposals in response to the OSC orders.

To view the orders and submit responding proposals, interested parties must be registered vendors in the Global Data Marketplace (globaldatamarketplace.com), an online transaction system established by the Department of Defense in partnership with BlueStaq.

For more information, visit: https://www.space.commerce.gov/office-of-space-commerce-announces-new-commercial-pathfinder-project-for-tracss/

TraCSS RESOURCES

To provide the public, space situational awareness community, and satellite owners/operators better access to resources and materials related to the Traffic Coordination System for Space, the Office of Space Commerce has published a new “TraCSS Videos, Listening Sessions, & Documents” page on our website.

This page hosts TraCSS materials, including OSC’s stakeholder update videos, public listening sessions, RFI responses, and public briefings/presentations. It will be regularly updated as new documents become available.

The page may be accessed here.

TraCSS NEWS & UPDATES

The latest news and updates on the Traffic Coordination System for Space may be found here.

VISION FOR GLOBAL SSA COORDINATION

In April 2024, the Office of Space Commerce released its “Global Space Situational Awareness Coordination” document, outlining a vision for a future of globally coordinated SSA services. The Office of Space Commerce envisions that in the future there will be a global, coordinated system of space situational awareness (SSA) providers, with a series of national or regional hubs providing SSA information and services to spacecraft operators. These centers will be supported by networks of international partnerships, and their services will be augmented by a robust global commercial SSA sector.

With its Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), the Office of Space Commerce is committed to maintaining an open and transparent system that enables global coordination with other SSA providers and ensures reliable and efficient services to global spacecraft operators.

Download and read the “Global Space Situational Awareness Coordination” here.

CONTACT TraCSS

Questions or comments about TraCSS can be shared at: tracss.commerce@noaa.gov

Subscribe to the Office of Space Commerce’s newsletter and TraCSS stakeholder outreach lists! Visit the “stakeholder engagement opt-in” form on OSC’s “Contact Us” webpage.