Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of the U.S. Space Command’s Combined Force Space Component Command, said that plans are in place for the Department of Commerce to oversee space traffic management, Space News reported Sunday.
The department requested for $10M to establish an Office of Space Commerce to support the transition in fiscal 2020. The move comes after the Trump administration issued Space Policy Directive 3 mandating the department to handle basic space traffic management operations directly or through a partnership with a nongovernment entity.
Whiting noted at a Mitchell Institute event that the transfer of space traffic management responsibilities would allow Space Command to “focus on our military unique missionâ€. However, the department would still have to secure their resources to support the transition.
According to Whiting, an official from the department is meeting with 18th Space Control Squadron leaders at Vandenberg Air Force Base as part of the planned transition.
