 All right everyone, I would like to welcome virtually to the summit for space sustainability director of NOAA's Office of Space Commerce. Again I think many of you are familiar with Rich who has had an illustrious career in our community ranging from the Clinton White House to Virgin Galactic and a number of other businesses. I am deeply pleased and honored to have this be one of his first public addresses in his new role. We also will be taking questions at the end of his session. So Rich is going to give us a keynote and then he has graciously agreed to have a few audience questions. We will still be using the Hoover app so please make sure you navigate over to this keynote if you'd like to be in the list for questions. Can we go ahead and bring Rich up? Stage is yours. Good afternoon all. I hope you are well and having a great conference. I'm sorry that I can't be with you in person. I actually this is a great time for an international gathering. The ideas, the challenges that we face, the ideas that I'm sure are circulating there at the conference are ones that I would very much like to hear. First of all my thanks to the UK Space Agency for their support of this conference. My thanks, my special thanks to Secure World Foundation. Secure World has been doing this for a long time. I mean their commitment to space sustainability, to the issues that we're addressing today started over 15 years ago and I think at the time everyone kind of said what's this small organization from Colorado talking about space for and what is space sustainability and now they have done they have an incredible body of work over the years and kudos to Cinda Arsino who's the founder of Secure World and the great team there who have been maintaining a focus on this issue for years. One of the reasons I'm sorry to miss this conference in London is that in many ways my own journey started in London at a conference. It was called improving our vision in 2006 and I remember like all good stories this one started in a bar in London and we were sitting around after the conference and the operators, the large geo operators were complaining about how hard it was to communicate to each other about their maneuvers, about their planned maneuvers and at the time they literally were calling each other on the telephone to talk about planned maneuvers and I think it was Teresa Hitchens who was then an analyst at the Center for Defense Information said you just need to invent a babble fish and of course that was a reference to the Douglas Adams book Hitchhiker's Guide but a universal translator and I remember Joe Chan who was the flight director of InnoSat said well yeah we could do that and from that conversation began a dialogue which led to the creation of the Space Data Association which was an industry formed attempt to start to come to grips with some of the issues that we're still dealing with today. How do you communicate? How do you communicate what you're doing specifically? How do operators communicate a maneuver? How do they talk to each other about potential problems and also how do they engage with governments? And I think honestly that experiment was not fully successful because I think the government wasn't ready. The governments weren't ready at that time to acknowledge the private sector as a full partner in this enterprise and I think one of the wonderful things that's happened over the intervening 15 years is that there has been a significant change and a desire to embrace the creativity and the dynamism of the private sector in helping to solve critical problems and I'll get more into that a little bit as we get into the remarks. But a little bit about my office I think some of you may know the Office of Space Commerce in the Department of Commerce. It aspires like the Secure World Foundation to a small office that aspires to have a large impact. We knew have a new role from the Space Policy Directive 3 from the last administration directed that the Commerce Department take over the current responsibilities being done by the Space Force. And those are the agreements to share information, create a catalog, warn of potential conjunctions and to work closely with private sector and our international partners. So that's a big job and I'll talk more about that in a minute. But in addition to those things, we also have a regulatory role. Initially our regulatory portfolio is limited to earth imaging. We are in discussion with the White House and we'll eventually be in discussion with Congress about perhaps expanding that role to what they refer to as Article 6 authorities under the Outer Space Treaty, which means things not the governments have a responsibility to do continuing oversight and supervision of the activities of their nationals under the Outer Space Treaty. And of course we have the FAA, which handles launch and recovery. We have the FCC, which is worried about spectrum and orbital position. But there are a lot of new activities coming along, low earth orbit commerce, CIS lunar activities, eventually rovers on the moon, and a bunch of future things that we need, which today seem far, far away, but which will be upon us soon enough. So that's a dialogue we'll have in the future. But those things are potential. So in terms of the our office taking over the responsibilities of the currently handled by the Space Force, the question is, well, what is it exactly that we're going to do? And so what the policy directive said is that you'll continue to provide the basic services supplied today. And I've been on kind of a listening tour to satellite operators asking them, well, what do you think the basic services are? And their first reaction is usually kind of glib. They go, well, it's, you know, what I'm getting today. And I say, are you happy with what you're getting today? And they say, Oh, no, no, I'm, there are many things we're not happy about. And I said, well, then, I'm sure you don't want me to do exactly what's happening today. So why don't we have a dialogue about what are the things that you're looking for? And once you prompt, I think the people who actually fly satellites for living and who live this every day have a really, they're really, it's easy to get a list out of them. And some of the things they are looking for are very practical things like more rapid cataloging of objects after launch that has has been and continues to be an issue. And the rate and latency of screening is is currently probably too slow for for commercial operators. So they'd like to see collision avoidance screening multiple times a day with very low latency. And one of the complaints that has been a long time complain of operators is operators say I'm willing to share my location information with you my ephemera. So I'm willing to share my location and my maneuver data, if you'll only ingest it into your system. And unfortunately, the the current systems are not agile enough to do that on a routine basis for all commercial operators. So the so a lot of the value of that sharing of information is lost. And then of course, operators would like special screening for maneuvers. And the simplest of all acts, they would like a web API for the exchange of information coming full circle back to our discussion in the pub in 2006, which is we still really haven't solved the basic fundamental issue of how do we effortlessly talk to each other. So this dialogue started with well established, well funded geostation area orbit operators. And they all had sophisticated flight dynamics teams and and but now we're in a totally different world operating in geo is like I always say operating in geos like living in the suburbs, you got lots of room, it's a nice environment, your neighbors are far far enough away to be friendly. And you come down to Leo and it's inner city living down there. It's it's a lot more dynamic environment. And so we need to have systems which are keeping pace with what is actually going on in the dynamic environment and lower thorbid, the mega constellations, the tremendous creativity and lower thorbid services. Eventually, as I said, lower thorbid, perhaps manufacturing commerce and things like that. So we have to have systems that are capable of doing that. So we need to we need to go to the next level. So I have been talking to not only the operators about what they need, but I have been on a listening tour with all the SSA providers, all the the folks who've got incredibly creative ideas for helping to manage this process. So what we'll be doing this summer and fall, assuming our partners in the United States Congress continue to give us the funding that we need. We will be doing some data buying, we're going to be doing some contracting for essential commercial services. And we will be doing hopefully we'll be able to be have some systems up and running very soon and comparing data quality. And again, all of this is targeted to to an NIOC initial operational capability in in 2004. So we have a lot of work this year to do. We're also staffing up the the office. You know, everyone always wants to talk about the the actual tools and technologies for SSA. And I always say, you know, that's like talking about the airplane. And that's important. I do need an airplane. But I'm really what I need to be talking about is the is the global air aircraft, the global air transportation system. So when it's great that there are all these great technologies, but they have to be in an international environment where we all agree on what's going on. So at the front end, back to the babel fish issue, we need standards, clarity on how we ingest data, what kinds of data we ingest the quality of data, how we validate data. So we need agreements there. There's some great work going on in the CCSDS, the standards group that's doing this tremendous work there and want to encourage that going forward. We need on the other side, we need rules of the road where there are developed generally understood principles by all space operators for how one handles various evolving situations in space. And then we probably need to have a pretty frank discussion about operation operator responsibilities. There are a lot of things that operators are willing to do today, like, for example, share their ephemera and their maneuver information. And the question is, should there be things that operators are are required to do? And the FCC give credit where credit is due here, put out a very, I think, bold and challenging document a couple years ago on they did a report and order on space debris and mitigation. And it raised a bunch of issues, bunch of really complicated issue about operator responsibility. And about how we intended to manage this new environment. And I look forward to engaging with my colleagues at the FCC on those on those. But if you haven't seen that document, it's a bit long. It's not exactly a page turner. But I do highly recommend it if you're interested in this field. It does it does seek to raise some really important issues. So in terms of my priorities, we are biggest challenge is to get the tools in place to to do the transition that we've been instructed to do for the responsibilities that are currently held by the Space Force. The first step in that journey is a memorandum of agreement between the Commerce Department and the Defense Department. And we're well underway on that. And I hope to have that wrapped up this summer. And then we need to engage with you all for your creativity and your ideas. And again, I'm sorry, I can't be there today to actually talk to you in the context of this important conference. But we need we do need your ideas because this is as I said before, this is a much, much bigger picture than just we're going to have a really sophisticated fusion engine that's going to be able to do orbital determination and conjunction assessment. It's well beyond that. We need this in a global context, we need to have our international partners working with us on this, we need to understand how to exchange information and validate that information in a way that is safe, secure and and and accurate. So we have a bunch of big technical challenges. We also have some policy challenges ahead of us how we redefine our relationships. What are the responsibilities of the new generation of operators in space? And what things should we be doing and shouldn't be doing as we go forward? So it's a big, it's a big bunch of tasks. And I'm only heartened by the fact that I know in my dialogue with you all that you have incredible ideas. And I'm looking forward to hearing those and getting together on a routine and regular basis to discuss those ideas. I promised that I would leave a few minutes for four questions. And so why don't I wrap up there and see if there are any questions in the audience. But I warn you in advance that I've only been in the position a handful of weeks. So the answer to some of your questions, maybe I don't know I will check. So with that, if anyone has a question, I would very much be happy to answer it. Excellent and absolutely rich. I will keep that in mind as I select the questions. We do have lots rolling in. I'm going to start with, I don't know, either the hardest or the easiest one. This question came in early and it's about your vision for the future of your particular office, you know, how does the office of space commerce fit into the broader ecosystem, you know, with the Space Council and NASA and the Space Force, you've mentioned some of it during your speech. But, you know, can you share with us, you know, how you see your office moving forward? Well, again, I think that I see the office and everything, of course, has to be cautioned by. It depends. We are guided by the principles articulated by the administration in conjunction with our colleagues in the United States Congress who fund and provide the authorities we need to do specific tasks, particularly regulatory tasks. But what my vision is and is that this is an office will first and foremost that we will execute on the on the on the task of implementing an open architecture data repository that that provides basic services to commercial and civil international entities for free. That's sort of our baseline. We also want to be advocates broadly for industry, but specifically also advocates for the SSA industry such that there is a robust, there is robust advanced services industry such that one of the things and again, one of the issues that we need to discuss about operator responsibility is should operators have a be required to have some sort of certified safety service to when they operate their fleets and that probably could be it could be handled externally or could be handled with with a sophisticated internal flight dynamics team. So but those are all dialogues that we need to have going forward. So an advocacy role that is both on SSA but but beyond it encouraging and trying to be a troubleshooter for for companies who are who are struggling either with licensing or regulation or with some challenge export control or some challenge with the government. And then finally regulatory we are today the regulator for earth imaging. That is a a tiny subcategory of the activities that will be going on in the future. And I think we are an open dialogue with the administration and with with the hill about whether we should fill that gap. What's the most appropriate way to fill the gap that we all see in the authorities in the U.S. So I see us playing a larger role in that in that space. Absolutely. Well, thank you. I think you're aware that the panel just preceding lunch. So right before you was led by Brian Whedon and we were having a conversation about transatlantic space traffic management in air quotes. So we have a question from the audience here saying how will your office work with the EU on matters related to STM practices and norms? Well, that's a very timely question. I believe next week we have a couple days in DC where we're having an ES EU dialogue and there is a large portion of the agenda focused on this issue. So I look I look forward to engaging with my colleagues in the EU on these topics and I look forward to those sessions next week. But I think it all starts with the willingness to to talk to each other and to identify issues that we are struggling with. And I'm sure that there's a lot of interesting concern about whether the services how the services currently provided by the Space Force will be will continue to be provided by my office. And I look forward to to addressing those anxieties and and hopefully beginning of an important multi-year dialogue. As I said previously, I mean, this is not something that the US can just do. It's not something that if we're super clever, we can solve the problem. This is something that requires the engagement of all nations. And again, without touching the third rail of politics these days, I mean, there we have some so we have some international. It is an internationally complex environment. And and right now, we think we need a full dialogue with all space fairing nations. And we can't have any major nation who's not participating in this dialogue. If we're going to be operating thousands of satellites in the same place, we have to have means of rapid, accurate communication. And so that's another level of the challenges that we'll be facing. Well, you know that secure world absolutely agrees with you when it comes to the need to have all countries and all actors who are affected at the table. So thank you for that. I want to turn to a question about industry. You mentioned that you've sort of been doing a listening tour. And so one of our audiences questions is delving a little deeper into that. So they said, What are the key barriers to industry and government working together to ensure space sustainability? And how can we overcome some of those challenges? You know, what are you encountering in your new role in that area? I think that if I can start out and without criticism, I think that, you know, the Space Force has done a very good job, given that, you know, 15 years ago, when we started this dialogue, the I think the reaction of a lot of folks in the then Air Force, the basic reaction we got was, well, this isn't my job. It's not my job to help you all in industry. I mean, I have other things I need to worry about. So so we went from that initial reaction. And that was the initial reaction quite frankly that the Space Data Association got was we don't have time, we we neither have time nor inclination to worry about your problems, commercial industry. And I think we've we've of course had a tremendous sea change there. And I hope with the transition to our office that that there is a level of service provided that is that is more timely and allows for the rapid increase. And also, I think that just from a, as we've seen the space become more and more complicated, I do think we'll see this differentiation between the military will have a more military focus and we will have we will hopefully be able to meet the needs of the civil and commercial entities. Excellent. Thank you. And obviously, you have a lot of insight into that from your previous role before this one. I have two more questions if that's all right for you. I think one is kind of taking a slightly different turn. How will human space safe, sorry, space flight safety protections figure into the DOC? I mean, that's obviously something that's also been shared among several agencies. I think that is the, as they say, that is the deep end of the pool, right? So we have been a regulator for imaging of the earth. And not that that's unimportant or or or simple. But it does not involve the complex layers of worrying about human safety. So if we were going to take over the so called article six authorities, the the responsibility for activities not associated with launch or recovery, we would eventually encounter the responsibility to start worrying about human safety and reliability of systems. That's not something that is on our agenda today or quite frankly, even next year, but it could eventually be. And the good news is that, just like our colleagues at the FAA, well, first of all, there's tremendous amount of knowledge amongst our colleagues at the FAA who've been dealing with this for years. And of course, we have NASA and the other space agencies who've been important partners in the development of the current rules that exist for launch and recovery. So I would see it as a as a complex partnership where if if we are tasked with that authority, and we have not been today, if we were tasked with that authority, I think we would have a lot of support and assistance in the interagency community. Absolutely. I'm going to talk about one question here that's after near and dear to my heart since my day job is focusing on Earth application policy. And as you said, that's one of the core duties that your office has always had. So our question is, can you speak to any coming changes to non-Earth imaging policy and how they may impact opportunities for on-orbit sensors for ATM? And I would treat this as an opportunity to just really share where you see the new policies going. I think that, I mean, just to observe a curious thing about our authorities, our authorities aren't for all imaging systems, like for example, electronic gathering systems, various systems for detecting radio frequency interference and other things, but don't fall under our purview. So there are some there are some curious gaps in even the the remote sensing regulations that exist today that I think we would need to re-look at. Where are we going as there is this multiplicity of new new systems being developed? I know that we have recently revamped the remote sensing guidelines, the rules, the regulations for remote sensing. And so I think the team is reasonably happy with where they are right now. We are also staffing up that group. And hopefully that if we were to get new authorities, that would be the place that we would put additional energy. But on the specifics of the actual remote sensing regulation and what things specifically we need right now, I'm just going to have to plead the new guy defense and say, I look forward to learning. Absolutely. Last question, I promise I want to sneak one more in since we are in an international conference and I really appreciate your willingness to do this. I know how hard it is to be a speaker to an audience you can't see, but I can assure you you have a room full of almost 300 people rapidly listening to everything you're saying. And I want to end on one that kind of acknowledges the global nature of this question of your work of the work of the UKSA as our co-host. And so the question is, how can regulators work more closely together across international borders to drive consensus around global standards, rules, processes and systems? This one specifically says for space traffic management, but I'm going to open it up broadly. Like, how do you see the international order working? You commented on this a little, but let's end on that note. Well, I think there's such a broad spectrum of the things you just asked about. I mean, at one level, very practically, we have the standards process, which is slow, it's time consuming, it's technically, you know, it requires detailed focus and it's but it's essential, right? But it's essential. And I think that there has been an effort by groups such as the CCSDS to engage globally initially. And so I think governments supplying their support for these standards processes is key. And then at the other end of the spectrum, there are, there is an important role for open forum, like the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space, for the broad discussion of these ideas, for the for the sort of unrestricted dialogue about where the world is and wants to go. But I also believe that with the example, recent example of the Artemis courts, there is an there, there's an important role for like-minded nations to take immediate action together. So I think we need all the tools. We need the hard, the hard and painful work of standards processes that allow us to communicate better and allow our machines to communicate better. We need the broad dialogue of the international community, the involvement of the policy people and the space lawyers and the whole discussion. But then in the middle, we need an ability in the shorter term to take action when like-minded action makes sense. And so I think we need to keep all those tools at the ready. And I look like I said, I look forward to our dialogue next week with the EU on some of these really important topics and look forward to working with my colleagues internationally on this and related space commercial topics. Well, thank you, Rich. That couldn't have ended that on a better note. We need all the tools. And I think we see that in our other panels and I couldn't agree with you more. So again, I want to thank you as the conference chair for the Summit for Space Stannability. We've been delighted to have you. We will be sure to report back everything else we discussed since you couldn't make it here in person. And again, thank you for your time today. All the magic happens in the pub after the meeting. That's, oh, no, no, don't worry. We have a reception tomorrow night in the Exploring Space Hall. So we've got it covered. Alrighty. Have a great conference, everyone.