ABSTRACT
This chapter examines what makes Space Situational Awareness (SSA) challenging from the standpoint of policy, finance, and international engagement, and how such challenges impede our ability to mitigate collision and RFI risks. It also examines why timely and substantive improvements are required across the SSA and Space Traffic Management (STM) enterprises to maximize the effectiveness of safety-of-flight procedures and analyses. SSA is critical but insufficient to solely support spaceflight safety. Effective legal and operational constructs are critically important, especially in missions that require the pooling or sharing of operational data. Accurate, comprehensive, and timely space situational awareness is foundational to space traffic management, yet few appreciate the many moving parts required to obtain such SSA. Investment in SSA and STM no longer has a direct relationship with SSA and STM capability. The chapter explains the standard conjunction assessment process and enumerated the commercial, national, and international entities who provide such services.
