Insider Brief
- Slingshot Aerospace has been awarded a $13.3 million contract by NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce to develop the user interface for TraCSS, the United States’ next-generation space safety platform.
- The contract encompasses a 12-month development phase valued at $5.3 million, with provisions for four additional option years.
- Slingshot Aerospace will build the Presentation Layer on top of NOAA’s infrastructure, with support from partners COMSPOC and T and T Consulting Services. The interface will integrate with Slingshot’s Beacon software, providing users with access to conjunction data and decision-making tools.
Slingshot Aerospace announced it has been awarded a $13.3 million contract by NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) to develop the user interface for TraCSS, the United States’ next-generation space safety platform. The contract encompasses a 12-month development phase valued at $5.3 million, with provisions for four additional option years.
The TraCSS Presentation Layer will serve as the primary user interface for the cloud-based system, which aims to improve space situational awareness and traffic coordination. Designed for a global audience, the platform will support civil, commercial, academic, and national security satellite operators, addressing the growing risks posed by the rapid expansion of satellites in orbit.
Today, 86 countries operate more than 10,000 active satellites, with projections estimating up to 100,000 satellites in orbit by 2030. This increase has led to a significant rise in conjunctions—close approaches between satellites—growing 17% year-over-year, according to Slingshot data. The TraCSS platform will provide critical services, including conjunction warnings, to help operators manage these risks and ensure safe operations.
The TraCSS initiative stems from the 2018 Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3), which tasked OSC with taking over civil space traffic coordination from the Department of Defense. The platform is expected to go live in late 2025, marking a transition for all commercial users from the existing space-track.org.
Slingshot Aerospace will build the Presentation Layer on top of NOAA’s infrastructure, with support from partners COMSPOC and T and T Consulting Services. The interface will integrate with Slingshot’s Beacon software, providing users with access to conjunction data and decision-making tools.
Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace, emphasized the importance of aligning with OSC’s mission, stating, “NOAA’s TraCSS initiative offers the opportunity for enhanced space safety and sustainability, fostering growth across the commercial, civil, and academic space sectors for the foreseeable future.”
The project builds on Slingshot’s earlier work with OSC, where the company provided space situational awareness and satellite tracking data for a low Earth orbit pathfinder initiative. Audrey Schaffer, Vice President of Strategy and Policy at Slingshot, highlighted the program’s significance, adding, “Deploying the TraCSS user interface is the next major step in operationalizing U.S. civil space traffic coordination.”
As satellite activity continues to grow, the development of TraCSS represents a crucial step toward ensuring long-term space sustainability and safety.
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