Notice2022-14516
Request for Information on Industry Needs for Space Situational Awareness Data and Value-Added Services, and Related Liability Considerations
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Published
July 8, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Department), via the Office of Space Commerce (OSC), requests input from all interested parties on spacecraft operator needs for U.S. government space situational awareness (SSA) data and basic spaceflight safety services; private sector concerns regarding usage rights for SSA data and products; and a framework for legal liability associated with the provision and use of SSA data and basic spaceflight safety services. This input will inform OSC's development of capabilities to share SSA data and provide basic spaceflight safety services to all space operators.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 130 (Friday, July 8, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 130 (Friday, July 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40820-40823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14516]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XV188
Request for Information on Industry Needs for Space Situational
Awareness Data and Value-Added Services, and Related Liability
Considerations
AGENCY: Office of Space Commerce, Department of Commerce, National
[[Page 40821]]
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Department), via the Office
of Space Commerce (OSC), requests input from all interested parties on
spacecraft operator needs for U.S. government space situational
awareness (SSA) data and basic spaceflight safety services; private
sector concerns regarding usage rights for SSA data and products; and a
framework for legal liability associated with the provision and use of
SSA data and basic spaceflight safety services. This input will inform
OSC's development of capabilities to share SSA data and provide basic
spaceflight safety services to all space operators.
DATES: Responses are due on or before August 8, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and organizations should submit
written comments on issues addressed in this Notice by either of the
following methods:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5221223331377c313d3f3f37203137123c3d33337c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9feceffefcfab1fcf0f2f2faedfcfadff1f0fefeb1f8f0e9">[email protected]</span></a>. Include the title of this
request in the subject line of the message.
Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Attachments will
be accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats only.
Respondents need not reply to all questions listed. Each individual or
institution is requested to submit only one response. All comments
received are part of the public record and may be posted, without
change, on a Federal website. All identifying information (e.g., name,
address) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly
accessible. OSC, therefore, requests that no business proprietary
information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable
information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please note that the
United States Government will not pay for response preparation, or for
the use of any information contained in the response.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn E. Tallia, Chief, NOAA Office of
General Counsel, Weather, Satellites, and Research Section, (301) 938-
6474.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
As described in Space Policy Directive-3 (83 FR 28969; June 21,
2018) and the 2021 United States Space Priorities Framework (<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/United-States-Space-Priorities-Framework-_-December-1-2021.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/United-States-Space-Priorities-Framework-_-December-1-2021.pdf</a>), OSC is developing the
capability to share space situational awareness (SSA) data and provide
basic spaceflight safety services to all space operators, including
conjunction analysis and warning services. OSC may leverage data,
products, and services provided from a variety of government,
commercial, academic, and international sources, taking over and
potentially expanding upon the service currently provided by the
Department of Defense.
OSC seeks public input broadly from the space community, including
spacecraft operators, SSA data providers (current and prospective,
ground and space-based), SSA analytic and value-added service
providers, academia, nonprofit entities, space insurance providers, and
the legal community.
OSC greatly appreciated responses to prior requests for
information, including its request for information about ``Commercial
Capabilities in Space Situational Awareness Data and Space Traffic
Management Services'' in April 2019 and ``Space Object Commercial
Data'' in February 2022. In addition, OSC has conducted numerous
Industry Day meetings with companies from November 2020 to January 2021
and provided an opportunity to respond to desired learning objectives
from a Commercial Sprint Advanced Concept Training. In addition, OSC is
currently engaged in a listening tour with satellite operators and
commercial space situational awareness data providers to understand
basic services they expect to see when OSC takes over the service
currently provided by the Department of Defense. The responses help OSC
better understand key aspects of current and future non-governmental
space object commercial data, and advanced SSA services that exceed the
basic spaceflight safety services described above. This request builds
on that input and, in addition, requests comments on usage rights and
liability concerns associated with OSC's provision of SSA data and
basic spaceflight safety services.
II. Questions To Inform Development of the SSA Products and Services
OSC seeks responses to four categories of questions, and invites
any member of the public to provide input:
A. Data, products, and services needed by spacecraft operators;
B. Usage rights in data, products, and services needed and provided
by spacecraft operators and value-added providers;
C. Framework for legal liability of spacecraft operators and the
private sector; and
D. General feedback.
Respondents are encouraged to explain how the capabilities to be
provided by OSC's SSA data and basic spaceflight safety services can be
structured for a policy and regulatory environment that enables a
competitive and burgeoning U.S. commercial space sector. Responses may
also explain how the U.S. Government can work with industry and
international partners in the development and implementation of open,
transparent, and credible international standards, policies, and
practices that establish the foundation for global space traffic
coordination.
A. Data, Products, and Services Needed by Spacecraft Operators
Prior requests for information have informed OSC on the specific
capabilities commercial entities could currently provide and could
provide in the future through an open architecture data repository that
provides SSA data and basic spaceflight safety services. OSC is seeking
to supplement this information by learning which SSA data and basic
spaceflight safety services should be provided by OSC as a government
service to spacecraft operators based on the most current needs of
spacecraft operators.
Currently OSC is planning to develop a public catalog of tracked
space objects and provide basic spaceflight safety services at no cost
to satellite owners and operators, commercial service providers, and
the public, including international participants. There are multiple
basic services currently under consideration. First, OSC would provide
on-orbit orbital safety assessments that include ephemeris and
tracking-based conjunction assessment screenings, conjunction data
message production with a calculated likelihood of collision
probability, orbital determination quality assessment, timing of any
future expected tracking, and pre-maneuver ephemeris screening. Second,
OSC would provide end-of-life reentry assessments that estimate both
the actual decay time and the ellipse of possible earth impact as
satellites approach decay. Third, OSC would provide pre-launch
coordination and launch coordination such as launch collision avoidance
assessments, and disposal and reentry of launch detritus assessments.
Finally, OSC would provide evaluations of satellite owner and operator
data before such data's use in conjunction assessments.
OSC invites public comment on the scope of those SSA data and basic
spaceflight safety services and on whether additional services from OSC
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would be of value to spacecraft operators.
B. Usage Rights in Acquired Data, Products, and Services
OSC sought public input on its plans to procure SSA data on
February 16, 2022 (<a href="https://sam.gov/opp/7611eabcd5a74979a267199ea8689de2/view">https://sam.gov/opp/7611eabcd5a74979a267199ea8689de2/view</a>), and will be seeking detailed
public input later this year on the potential procurement of SSA
products and services. This input will help OSC understand what data
and products the private sector can provide. OSC may also obtain SSA
data from spacecraft operators. OSC now seeks public input regarding
the usage rights for the acquired data and products. OSC is inviting
comments addressing what usage and sharing rights for acquired SSA
data, products, and services will enable spacecraft operators and
value-added service providers to best rely on OSC's data and basic
spaceflight safety services. OSC also invites comments regarding how
usage rights will impact those providing commercial SSA data or
products to OSC. Furthermore, OSC invites comment on the following
questions:
(1) For value-added service providers, what type of usage rights in
SSA data and products would enable use of such data and products to
build advanced SSA services beyond basic spaceflight safety services?
For example, would a condition prohibiting commercial use be
problematic? Name specific acceptable data licenses if known (e.g.,
Creative Commons Zero Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0) (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode">https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode</a>), Creative Commons
Attribution International (CC BY 4.0) (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode</a>), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode</a>)). For spacecraft operators, what type of usage rights
in SSA data and products, if any, are of value to rely on OSC's SSA
data and basic spaceflight safety services?
(2) For value-added service providers, would access to the
algorithms used to process SSA data and create products and services be
helpful? If so, why, and what type of usage rights would enable use?
Name specific acceptable software licenses, if known (e.g., CC0, Apache
2.0 (<a href="https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0">https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0</a>), MIT, GNU Lesser
General Public License (LGPL) (<a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html</a>), GNU General Public License (GPL) (<a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html</a>), etc.).
(3) For commercial data and product providers from whom OSC
acquires SSA data and products, how would various usage rights in those
data and products impact those commercial data and product providers?
For example, are SSA data providers willing to provide data under an
open license, but only at a significantly higher cost?
(4) For spacecraft operators from whom OSC acquires data, how would
various usage rights in those data impact spacecraft operators? For
example, are spacecraft operators willing to share some data only on
the condition that it is not shared with the public, or only shared
with the public on the condition that it is used for noncommercial
purposes?
(5) Are non-Federal entities developing SSA products and services
willing to share their algorithms with OSC, either freely or under a
procurement contract? Would they be willing to share their algorithms
with the public, either freely or if OSC procures public sharing and
use rights? If so, under what usage rights (name specific acceptable
software licenses, if applicable)?
C. Framework for Legal Liability of Spacecraft Operators and the
Private Sector
OSC is evaluating the legal liability implications associated with
the provision of governmental SSA data and basic spaceflight safety
services. In this context, OSC is seeking information to consider
whether the provision of governmental SSA data and basic spaceflight
safety services that incorporate industry data or products raises
liability concerns for those providing the relied on data or products.
OSC is also seeking public input on whether there are liability
concerns with respect to spacecraft operators or value-added providers
that rely on governmental SSA data and basic spaceflight safety
services.
By ``liability framework,'' OSC means the set of legal rules that
govern--or could govern--liability for a collision. In some of the
questions below, OSC asks what the current liability framework is. OSC
wants to ensure that it has accurate, comprehensive information about
the current state of the world faced by parties involved in providing
or using SSA or spaceflight safety services. In other questions, OSC
asks what the liability framework could or should be in the future to
address any potential liability issue. Responders are encouraged to
think about liability broadly and consider mechanisms such as
disclaimers of warranty, indemnity, immunity, cross-waivers of
liability, and others. OSC invites general responses regarding legal
liability. Furthermore, OSC has identified the following questions:
(1) In the event of an on-orbit collision between two U.S.
spacecraft operators, what liability framework currently applies and
what role, if any, would governmental SSA data or basic spaceflight
safety services play in that framework? What liability framework should
apply? What incentives or regulatory approaches to liability will
increase competitiveness of U.S. industry in the global market and
increase spaceflight safety?
(2) In the event of an on-orbit collision between a U.S. spacecraft
operator and a foreign spacecraft operator, what liability framework
currently applies and what role, if any, would governmental SSA data or
basic spaceflight safety services play in that framework? What
liability framework should apply? What incentives or regulatory
approaches to liability will increase competitiveness of U.S. industry
in the global market and increase spaceflight safety?
(3) In the event of an on-orbit collision, what insurance regimes
are available to U.S. spacecraft operators? What liability mechanisms
(e.g., cross-waiver of liability provisions) can provide stability and
risk assurance to both insurers and U.S. spacecraft operators? What
role can or should governmental SSA data or basic spaceflight safety
services play in insurance regimes?
(4) Are there any liability concerns that would prevent spacecraft
operators or commercial SSA data, product, or service providers from
providing data, products, or services to OSC? Are there liability
concerns caused by OSC creating derived or value-added data, products,
or services developed using the provider's data, products, or services?
If so, what could be done to address these concerns? With respect to
SSA data, products and services released to the public, would the
disclaimers included in standard open data licenses (such as CC0 or CC
BY 4.0) adequately address those liability concerns?
(5) Are there any liability concerns that would prevent spacecraft
operators or commercial SSA data, product, or service providers from
providing SSA data, products, or services to the public? What
incentives or regulatory approaches to liability will be in the best
interest of U.S. spacecraft operators and value-added providers in
terms of
[[Page 40823]]
international competitiveness and increased spaceflight safety?
(6) Currently, OSC does not have specific space traffic control
authority over space objects. What, if any, future space traffic
control regimes would be desirable? Should provision of OSC SSA data or
basic spaceflight safety services be accompanied with binding
directions or procedures to spacecraft operators? What impact, if any,
would such directions or procedures have on liability for U.S.
spacecraft operators or value-added service providers?
D. General Feedback
OSC welcomes feedback about any other related topics. For example,
are there any matters not discussed above that OSC should or must
consider before it provides SSA data and basic spaceflight safety
services?
III. How To Submit Your Response
To facilitate review of your responses, please reference the
subject of the RFI in your response. You may respond to some or all of
the topic areas covered in the RFI, and you can suggest other factors
or relevant questions. You may also include links to online material or
interactive presentations. If including data sets, please make the data
available in a downloadable, machine-readable format with accompanying
metadata.
Please note that this is a request for information (RFI) only. In
accordance with the implementing regulations of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA), specifically 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4), this general
solicitation is exempt from the PRA. Facts or opinions submitted in
response to general solicitations of comments from the public,
published in the Federal Register or other publications, regardless of
the form or format thereof, provided that no person is required to
supply specific information pertaining to the commenter, other than
that necessary for self-identification, as a condition of the agency's
full consideration, are not generally considered information
collections and therefore not subject to the PRA.
This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it
does not constitute a request for proposals, applications, proposal
abstracts, or quotations. This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government
to contract for any supplies or services or make a grant award.
Further, we are not seeking proposals through this RFI and will not
accept unsolicited proposals. Choosing not to respond to this RFI does
not preclude participation in any future procurement, if conducted.
Dated: July 1, 2022.
Glenn E. Tallia,
Chief, Weather, Satellite and Research Section, NOAA Office of General
Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-14516 Filed 7-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HR-P
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