SAFE Orbit Act

Situational Awareness of Flying Elements in Orbit Act or the SAFE Orbit Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the Traffic Coordination System for Space, which is being developed by the Office of Space Commerce to provide space situational awareness data and services to space operators. (Space situational awareness means an understanding of the space operational environment and the identification, tracking, and prediction of the behavior of space objects and debris.)

As an initial matter, the bill provides for the elevation of the Office of Space Commerce to a standalone bureau within the Department of Commerce. (The office currently sits within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

The bill authorizes the bureau to acquire location tracking data, positional and orbit determination information, conjunction data messages, and other data, analytics, information, and services deemed necessary to avoid collisions in space. The bureau must disseminate this information at no charge (1) through a public database of space situational awareness information and services, including space traffic coordination; and (2) through the provision of basic situational awareness services to satellite operators. The bill also sets forth certain requirements for the collection and dissemination of such information, including that, to the extent practicable, the provision of service to satellite operators may not compete with private situational awareness products.

Finally, the bill provides immunity for the United States government from any suit for a cause of action arising from the provision or receipt of space situational awareness services or information.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov