WASHINGTON — With skyrocketing space traffic rising the dangers of unintended collisions and misunderstandings that might result in navy conflicts, a brand new UN group is assembly in Vienna, Austria to attempt to hash out sensible data sharing measures amongst nations.
The Expert Group on Space Situational Awareness (EG SSA) was initiated below the Science and Technical subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) final July by the United Arab Emirates, which is serving because the chair. Whereas the group has held two digital “intercessionals” to kick begin the discussions, the subcommittee’s annual session Feb. 2-13 represents the primary time group members have met in particular person.
In a written assertion Feb. 6, Ryan Guglietta, the US State Division consultant to the assembly, welcomed the EG SSA, calling it “an unprecedented alternative for Member States to convene their authorities and personal sector technical specialists to have substantive discussions on the best way to enhance spaceflight security.
“We’re optimistic that the group can ship sensible, tangible outcomes that assist all actors in area talk higher and keep away from collisions,” he added.
The US delegation to the talks is being led by NASA and the State Division’s Everlasting Mission to Worldwide Organizations in Vienna, a State Division official informed Breaking Protection in an e mail.
“The US supported the UAE’s efforts to create the SSA Professional Group in 2025 with a aim of enhancing how overseas international locations share SSA-related knowledge and improve the protection of U.S. authorities and industrial area objects, notably as a large variety of international locations turn into energetic in area,” the spokesperson stated.
And whereas the spokesperson didn’t elaborate which particular international locations the US hopes to have interaction, different authorities officers stated that China is on the prime of the record.
The Pentagon for years has notified Beijing about China’s potential on-orbit conjunctions utilizing knowledge from US House Command’s (SPACECOM) Space Surveillance Network of radars and ground- and space-based sensors. These notifications — which embody data much like that offered to US industrial operators — are offered through e mail to the Beijing Institute of Telecommunications and Monitoring Expertise (BITTT), a analysis unit of the PLA’s Aerospace Forces.
BITTT is the official Chinese language authorities level of contact for its home operators with regard to problems with area security, together with collision avoidance.
Prior to now, SPACECOM hardly ever, if ever, obtained any form of response from BITTT, a SPACECOM spokesperson beforehand informed Breaking Protection.
For instance, again in February 2022, in response to questions from Breaking Protection about Chinese language allegations that two SpaceX Starlink satellites the earlier December had almost rammed China’s Tiangong area station, a SPACECOM spokesperson bemoaned the truth that there was no direct communication from Beijing in regards to the potential collisions.
“The U.S. Authorities has repeatedly sought to enhance bilateral sharing of spaceflight data with the PRC for almost a decade. The USG has additionally constantly urged the PRC to make the most of its designated factors of contact for issues referring to human spaceflight security and emergency collision avoidance assist,” the spokesperson stated on the time.
Nonetheless, in accordance with the US authorities and business officers, over the previous 12 months Beijing has begun reaching out about potential on-orbit crashes. In essentially the most public instance, in October the China Nationwide House Company for the primary time initiated contact with NASA a couple of attainable crash between satellites owned by the 2 area businesses and provided to maneuver its satellite tv for pc.
The communications pathway has been smoothed partially by a US authorities effort final 12 months to craft cross-agency pointers for speaking about SSA points, slating BITTT as the primary channel. As one official stated, that helped “get our act collectively” in order that the Chinese language weren’t confused by contacts from a number of US sources.
Additional, the interagency group in August 2025 issued to US industrial operators an identical set of greatest practices for mitigating potential on-orbit collisions with China. The steering, obtained by Breaking Protection, explains when and the way operators ought to contact BITTT following a SPACECOM notification about attainable crash with a Chinese language satellite tv for pc, in addition to when an operator merely needs to debate security precautions and/or maneuvers about its birds within the neighborhood of Chinese language spacecraft.
The thaw in bilateral SSA relations may assist foster the UN negotiations, which in accordance with the working group’s agenda embody discussions of “enhanced world operational coordination on SSA knowledge programs and harmonization of knowledge codecs throughout world SSA programs” and the creation of boards for normal data exchanges.
“In previous dialogue and analysis work round US/China area security coordination, I’ve discovered that Chinese language stakeholders understand a stronger want for presidency coverage construction to allow them to have interaction straight on area security,” stated Ian Christensen, senior director of personal sector applications on the Safe World Basis.
“Whereas the Professional Group is a really multilateral course of, and never in my opinion primarily in regards to the US-China relationship, I’m hopeful it’ll contribute to the political circumstances essential to see additional enhancements in area security data sharing between these two international locations,” he added.
The group is anticipated to carry a collection of conferences, each digital and in particular person, between now and the COPUOS plenary assembly in 2028 when its outcomes are due. The committee’s annual plenaries are normally held in Might or June.
