SWF Staff Urge Action on Solidifying the Vision and Role of the Office of Space Commerce

Monday, May 10, 2021

SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden published an op-ed in SpaceNews discussing the challenges the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) in the U.S. Department of Commerce faces in meeting the vision and mission laid out by the Trump Administration. Dr. Weeden discusses the origin and history of OSC and the expanded role it took on during the Trump Administration to better promote commercial space sector within the U.S. government, oversee a commercial space activities, and develop civil space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management (STM) capabilities. He also discusses how the presidential transition has placed that expanded vision in jeopardy, and the steps the new leadership team from the Department of Commerce should take to continue making progress.