The U.S. Strategic Command has added another partner to its space situational awareness agreement, making Romania the 20th nation to sign on to the deal to promote openness, predictability of space operations, and transparency in space activities.
The Romanian Space Agency signed the dotted line April 25 and joined a group of 99 other nations, intergovernmental organizations and commercial satellite owner/operator/launchers already participating in SSA data-sharing agreements with the command.
“Signing the 100th SSA is an enormous milestone,” Vice Adm. Dave Kriete, deputy of U.S. Strategic Command, said in a statement. “Effective monitoring and space situational awareness requires cooperation – we cannot do it alone. We encourage others to join us. Agreements like these build our relationships and allow the space community to be more effective in space activities, enhancing the safety of space for all nations.”
In 2011, USSTRATCOM was tasked with signing SSA agreements on behalf of the U.S. government with governmental agencies and commercial satellite owners and operators to provide space information.