Space Security Index

2010 Development
U.S. government continues to expand its SSA Sharing Program
In July, USSTRATCOM implemented a new Conjunction Support Message (CSM) for
participants in its SSA Sharing Program. Entities that sign a data-sharing agreement with
USSTRATCOM will receive the new CSM for any close approach that threatens one of
their satellites that is being monitored by the JSpOC. 103 e CSM contains information
on both objects involved in the conjunction, including some covariance information that
was not disclosed previously. is additional information allows satellite operators to more
precisely calculate the probability of a collision and plan a potential avoidance maneuver. 104
By the end of 2010, USSTRATCOM had signed data-sharing agreements with 19
commercial satellite operators. 105 ese agreements allow for two-way data ow between
USSTRATCOM and partners, including more detailed information on potential collisions
contained in the CSMs. In a keynote speech at the November USSTRATCOM Strategic
Space Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska, Lieutenant General Larry James said that the JSpOC
screening service was assisting with an average of three satellite maneuvers per week. James
also stated that throughout 2010, more than 64 satellites were maneuvered to avoid potential
on-orbit collisions as a result of information and services provided by USSTRATCOM.
Space Security Impacts
As no single space actor can achieve true SSA on its own, increases in data sharing among
governments and satellite operators greatly enhance space security. Although more public and
universal data sharing would be welcome, the limited sharing done by the U.S. government
after the 2009 Iridium-Cosmos satellite collision is a step in the right direction. A positive
example of the collective benets of sharing SSA data is the widely publicized recovery of the
Galaxy 15 satellite following a malfunction in 2010.
Space Situational Awareness
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