In Colorado, Pence says commerce dept. will play role in space traffic management

COLORADO SPRINGS – The Department of Commerce will play an active role in managing space traffic as government and private enterprises embark on missions to the moon and Mars, Vice President Mike Pence said Monday during opening remarks at the 34th Space Symposium.

Pence, who chairs the National Space Council, told a crowd of civilian and military space leaders that President Donald Trump would soon receive a new space traffic policy for approval – namely, that it would address space traffic management issues, especially as commercial launch activity continues to grow.

The commerce department, he said, will “develop a basic level of space situational awareness” based on an existing Department of Defense catalog of space objects ranging from active satellites to orbital debris, “so that our military leaders can focus on protecting and defending our national security assets in space.”

The policy also includes channels for commercial companies to partner with the government to develop data-sharing systems in an effort to minimize debris and avoid spacecraft collisions.

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“Under this new policy, we will preserve the integrity of critical space assets and foster an orbital environment where America’s space companies can propel our nation to new heights and greatness for generations to come,” Pence said. 

The policy would mark new territory for the commerce department, which was seen as competing with the Federal Aviation Administration for management of space traffic and object monitoring. It builds on and works with a previous NSC directive discussed in February at Kennedy Space Center that involves space-related regulation reforms, such as loosening launch license restrictions.

The FAA currently deals with launch and re-entry licensing for spacecraft.

The $21 billion directed toward NASA in the latest budget, Pence said, reinforces the administration's priorities toward human spaceflight through NASA's Space Launch System mega-rocket, an orbital platform around the moon, and eventual crewed trips to Mars.

"From this orbiting platform, and with our international and commercial partners, American astronauts will return to the moon to explore its surface and learn how to harness its resources to launch expeditions to Mars," he said before wrapping up his speech at the historic Broadmoor Hotel, which sits at the base of Cheyenne Mountain and hosts the annual Space Symposium.

SLS is slated to launch on a three-week, uncrewed demonstration mission around the moon no earlier than December 2019, though a slip to 2020 is possible. Crewed missions would not begin earlier than 2023, according to NASA's timeline.

The NSC, which lain dormant for nearly 25 years until its reactivation in 2017, aims to better coordinate space policy across military, exploration, science and commercial missions.

About 1,500 miles away at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, meanwhile, the Monday launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA's planet-hunting TESS spacecraft was delayed to at least Wednesday to perform more analysis on guidance, navigation and control systems.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.