S. 428 · On the floor · Science, Technology, Communications

SAFE Orbit Act

Sponsor: John Cornyn (R-TX)

What it does

• Provides statutory authority for the Traffic Coordination System for Space, which the Office of Space Commerce is developing to give space operators situational awareness data and services.
• Elevates the Office of Space Commerce from NOAA to a standalone bureau within the Department of Commerce.
• Authorizes the bureau to acquire location tracking data, orbit determination information, conjunction data messages, and other data and services needed to avoid collisions in space.
• Requires free dissemination through a public database and basic situational awareness services to satellite operators, without competing with private products where practicable.

Official summary

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…

Latest action

Sep 29, 2025: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 170.

Committee: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation