Aidan Daly
Slingshot Aerospace was awarded a $13.3 million contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commerce to build the website and user experience of the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS.
The space data analytics company said Tuesday the development of the TraCSS user interface is aimed at improving spaceflight safety for satellite operators globally. The TraCCS Presentation Layer is the website and user experience for the new platform. Slingshot Beacon, a space traffic coordination software of Slingshot, will be used on the development.
TraCSS, a modern, cloud-based IT system, will provide essential space situational awareness and space traffic coordination to active satellites in orbit. As the primary interface for surfacing conjunction data, the Presentation Layer will send warnings about upcoming conjunctions. Before, satellite operators had to coordinate and maneuver their satellites to avoid collisions.
Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace, commented, “Slingshot’s role in developing this groundbreaking space traffic coordination platform requires intentionally as well as close mission alignment with OSC. 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.”
OSC has assumed the traffic coordination responsibilities from the Department of Defense following the Space Policy Directive 3 issued in 2018. TraCCS.gov should be online in late 2025 to support the transition of all commercial users from space-track.org.
