The Space Data Association (SDA) has announced that it has selected the Spanish technology provider GMV to upgrade and operate its global space traffic coordination platform. The upgrade will begin early next year. The non-profit group of satellite operators made the announcement on September 16.
The Space Safety Portal (SSP), which ingests flight dynamics information from SDA members and public sources to provide conjunction assessment and warning services, was created shortly after SDA’s founding in 2009. The service is currently managed by ComSpOC, a U.S. space situational awareness (SSA) specialist. ComSpOC was one of several companies that bid to deliver a next-generation system designed to better handle increasingly congested orbits and heightened collision risks.
SDA chairman Joe Chan stated that the upgrade is crucial given budget cuts to the U.S. Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). “Avoiding collisions which can cause long-lived, hazardous space debris is more important than ever given the increased utilization of space,” Chan said via email. “SDA promotes development and adoption of publicly funded space traffic coordination systems but none are yet fully operational.”
SDA presents itself as an accessible entry point for operators to participate in SSA. Operators pay for SDA membership to access services and are required to share key data, including advanced maneuver information. “It can be compared to the traffic code of conduct,” Chan said. “It is only effective if all vehicles on the road follow the same rules. Similarly, just because the space orbital environment is getting crowded, it can still be safe if all operators follow and observe the same best practices.”
According to Chan, over 700 satellites currently contribute data to the platform, including roughly half of all active spacecraft in geostationary orbit.
Chan emphasized that SDA’s operator-founded, non-profit structure provides a unique safeguard for sensitive data, particularly with the rise of commercial space traffic management platforms. SDA aims to be a data coordinator and innovation hub, bringing together all SSA providers. “As a fully independent, non-commercial entity and as a permanent observer within UNOOSA (United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs), SDA can act as the facilitator/partner and fuse together information to fully achieve global Space Traffic Coordination,” he said. “However, in order to do this, as an industry, we must share data! If we don’t, we will remain in the current status quo, where data is ultimately fragmented within different SSA systems. A unified approach will bring all relevant data into one central place where data can be vetted, converted into a common frame, fused and made available whenever it is required.”
The upgraded SSP will include several new capabilities.