The U.S. Strategic Command has signed an agreement to share space situational awareness services and information with Norway’s ministry of defense and ministry of trade, industry and fisheries in a push to boost the safety of spaceflight operations in both countries.Stratcom said Wednesday it also has SSS data-sharing agreements with 12 other countries, two intergovernmental organizations and more than 60 commercial satellite owners, operators and launchers.
The command noted such pacts aim to increase multinational space cooperation and accelerate the process for requesting specific information gathered through Stratcom’s Joint Space Operations Center located at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
“Besides defending this nation against all threats, we also have to protect the space environment so it is available to current and future generations everywhere,” said Gen. John Hyten, Stratcom commander and an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2017.
“One of the ways we do that is through space situational awareness, to understand what is going on in space so that our space systems can continue to provide national, military, civil, scientific and economic benefits to the global community.”
