TheOffice of Space Commerceis an office withinNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationwhich is part of theUnited States Department of Commerce.It is currently one of several offices within the department that are responsible for overseeing and promotingeconomic activityin space. The office is small in size, and its first director was Kevin O'Connell.[1]In January 2021, Mark Paese took over as acting director.[2]As of May 9, 2022, Richard DalBello is the current director of the Office of Space Commerce.[3]
In May 2018,Wilbur Ross,theSecretary of Commerceannounced plans to consolidate the Office with the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) Office to form a newadministration,the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration.[4]The goal of the newagencywould be to streamline the regulatory process.[5]These plans were subsequently abandoned.[6]
