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Trump #layoffs hit key 'air traffic control for #space' unit
The #Trump admin this week fired employees who were building a system to manage #satellite traffic in space, weakening a badly needed effort championed by the #US space industry & the president's first admin.
#Musk #DOGE #Starlink #broligarchy #kleptocracy #technocracy #InfoSec #USpol
https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/trump-layoffs-hit-key-air-traffic-control-space-unit-2025-03-01/
Roughly a third of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 25-person Office of Space Commerce, a little-known body relied heavily upon by the #space industry, were given a few hours' notice of their termination on Thursday by acting #NOAA chief Nancy Hann & were forced out of the office by the end of the day, two sources said.
Their termination, the sources said, threatens to undermine efforts to complete what is essentially an air traffic coordination system for #space, currently operating in a trial phase as growing global demand for crucial #satellite services sharply increases the number of #spacecraft in Earth's #orbit.
#ElonMusk's government *efficiency* effort has led to thousands of #layoffs in the federal government, disrupting government operations across the country. #Musk, who leads #space company #SpaceX, has long criticized space #regulations for being too *slow & outdated* [requiring him to abide w/safety standards & laws].
"These are like air traffic controllers for #space, they handle space traffic coordination to prevent collisions," one of the sources said, adding the #layoffs come at a bad time given the number of collision notices sent out. A collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide w/another object in space.
"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands," the source said. "It's like a game of chicken up there."
The layoffs also upend the agency's core function of #licensing commercial imagery #satellites. By Friday, companies seeking licenses or asking #regulatory questions by email were met with a response stating all those communications will be handled by #NOAA lawyers….
"This is a temporary arrangement to address continuity of operations as no senior personnel remain in the office due to ongoing reductions in force," the email read.
The firings at one of the most important US #space #licensing agencies hit at a dire time for a booming US space industry that has long pushed for more nimble & simplified #satellite #regulatory processes…
But sources & individuals across the space industry & US govt…said these #layoffs are likely to trigger major delays in getting #spacecraft approved for #launch.
The #FAA, which signs off on rocket payloads, cannot approve a satellite launch requiring a #NOAA license if it hasn’t obtained it.
@Nonilex I'm convinced Musk wants to control access to space
Apparently 2/3 of all satellites in orbit are Starlink
These things weigh over a metric tonne & are steerable with ion propulsion
It would be trivial to steer a swarm of them into the path of any rocket launch or return from orbit Musk doesn't approve of
Or de orbit one so it drops on a government building for a regime he doesn't like
See this thread with Prof. Sam Lawler ( @sundogplanets )
@Nonilex There's Musk shooting himself in the foot via SpaceX. If you haven't heard of the Kessler Syndrome, take a read.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
Yeah, that was my first thought. This has Kessler Syndrome written all over it. But it's not Musk that will suffer, it's everybody. Imagine every GPS, communications and remote Internet access satellite being destroyed, among others. Imagine airline and shipping traffic trying to operate without GPS. No, the entire world would be deeply fucked if this happens.