Abstract:
The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) has several dedicated technical committees, including Technical Committee #26 (TC26), which deals with Space Traffic Management (STM). TC26 was founded in October 2018 following a joint decision between the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law, and the IAF at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany. TC26 expects to produce a white paper, with a first draft expected by the 2021 IAC in Dubai, UAE.
To accomplish this goal, TC26 formed eight working groups chartered to examine: terminology, new means of space object monitoring, improving orbital data, re-entry hazards, improving the collision avoidance process, future space operations, new technical regulations, and compliance with existing technical regulations. This article presents the terminology working group’s preliminary contributions to TC26’s white paper. Aspects of this article may differ from the final white paper to harmonize with the reports developed by the other TC26 working groups.
STM terminology is not universally harmonized today. In the following sections, we summarize the significance of effective STM, present the causes of the variance in terminology, and highlight the challenges to reaching consensus. We conclude by defining STM-related terms that will inform the final white paper of TC26.
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Oltrogge, D.L., Strah, M., Skinner, M.A., Rovetto, R.J., Lacroix, A., Anil Kumar, A.K., Grattan, K., Francillout, L., and Alonso, I., “Recommendations of the IAF Space Traffic Management Terminology Working Group, 11th IAASS Conference – Managing Risk in Space, Virtual, International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, 19-21 September 2021, accessible at https://comspoc.com/Resources/Content/Private/C-20220422T124306/Paper/20211019_Recommendations_of_IAF_STM_Terminology_WG_FINAL.pdf.
