Helping U.S. businesses use the unique medium of space to benefit our economy
The Office of Space Commerce promotes U.S. commercial remote sensing satellite services by contributing to the development of government policies affecting the industry, voicing the industry’s interests within interagency policy discussions, and representing U.S. commercial interests in international negotiations.
Separately, NOAA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office licenses the operation of U.S. commercial imaging satellites and manages the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES). Learn more
Yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued a statement regarding the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 2809, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act. View statement The stated purpose of the bill is (1) to enhance the existing …
Statement of Secretary Ross on House Passage of Space Commerce Bill Read more »
Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross participated in the second meeting of the National Space Council, held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Among other things, the Council approved a set of recommendations to the President for regulatory reforms …
On October 5, 2017, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross attended the first meeting of the reconstituted National Space Council. As Chairman of the Council, Vice President Mike Pence called for a full review of the U.S. regulatory framework for commercial …
Commerce Department Now Accepting Public Inputs on Regulatory Streamlining Read more »
On November 25, President Obama signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act. The legislation renamed the Office of Space Commercialization to the Office of Space Commerce (its original designation) and added several functions. The new functions include promoting U.S. …
Law Restores Original Name of Office of Space Commerce Read more »
On May 13, 2014, the Departments of State and Commerce released a set of interim final rules that move many commercial satellites and related items from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List. This long awaited rule change …
Revised Satellite Export Control Rules Published Read more »
DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has released an assessment of the consumers of U.S. commercial electro-optical (EO) satellite imagery. The goal was to evaluate the current market behavior of these imagery consumers as well as providers of products, …
Report on Consumers of Commercial Remote Sensing Imagery Read more »
In January 2013, the major two U.S. commercial remote sensing satellite firms, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye, completed their merger, retaining the DigitalGlobe name.
On April 27, Eve Douglas of the Office of Space Commercialization will speak at a Space Enterprise Council forum on “The Importance of Commercial Remote Sensing to Economic and National Security.” The Capitol Hill event is scheduled for 9:00-10:00 a.m. …
Douglas to Speak at Commercial Remote Sensing Forum Read more »
On August 6, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarded $7.3 billion in contracts to two U.S. commercial remote sensing firms in support of the EnhancedView program.
Today, President Obama issued a National Space Policy directive providing comprehensive guidance for all government activities in space, including the commercial, civil, and national security space sectors. The new policy leans farther forward in support of U.S. business interests than …
March 3-5, 2010 Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Washington, D.C. The Office of Space Commercialization partnered with the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) to organize this international symposium on satellite-based commercial remote sensing. Nearly 400 people from 17 …
2010 International Commercial Remote Sensing Symposium Read more »
On August 24, 2009, NOAA granted a license to Northrop Grumman to operate a commercial remote sensing satellite with one-meter synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability. It is the first U.S. license approved for a commercial radar imaging satellite at that …
U.S. Approval for 1-Meter Commercial Radar Satellite Read more »