Makena Young, Aerospace Security Project
Keywords: Space Policy, Space Law, Space Situational Awareness, Space Domain Awareness, Space Traffic Management, Machine Learning Applications of SSA
Abstract:
The Center for Strategic and International Studies Aerospace Security Project has completed a space policy research effort focused on key issues and the future of global Space Situational Awareness (SSA) developments. As more commercial and state actors enter the space domain and launch more satellites of all sizes, SSA development is going to continue to play a larger role in the safety of the domain. This paper will analyze the views of countries and commercial companies on the growing SSA domain.
In the past, SSA systems were typically owned and operated by nation states, and the U.S. government enjoyed a significant advantage in being able to control the public release of SSA data by serving as the de facto global coordinator for conjunction warning notifications. Recent years have seen an increase in commercial SSA companies and their capabilities. As more actors become involved in SSA development, the responsibilities and relationships between different actors will inevitably change. The paper will delve into the types of SSA services currently provided by state and commercial actors, types of sensors being used, and how government data is incorporated. This paper will analyze different object catalogues and what countries prefer to use for their own SSA operations. Further, the paper will analyze how commercial companies and state actors interact in terms of regulations and data sharing agreements, and possible points of contention between states and private entities.
The research for this paper was conducted using open source research and by speaking to representatives from commercial SSA companies around the globe. The preliminary findings indicate that the commercial sector is rapidly increasing in SSA capabilities, and there will be an anticipated shift in national space policies regarding the SSA domain as states and space actors will have to cooperate more heavily with one another. States that have increased activity in the SSA domain include China, Russia, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, among others. There is also an anticpated increase in activity for countries that have large ground-based sensors, for example in Chile, South Africa, and Australia.
To conclude, the paper will summarize prevailing trends in commercial SSA and the policy questions that these technological advances are prompting. The paper will also analyze the effects of commercially available emerging technologies and the ability of non-state actors to identify/characterize objects in space that nation states may not want to publicly acknowledge. Finally, the paper will identify prevailing trends in commercial SSA, areas of consensus among current actors, and areas where more consensus is needed.
Date of Conference: September 14-17, 2021
Track: SSA/SDA