Mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have resulted in what is essentially a shut down of the unit responsible for licensing US remote sensing satellites, according to multiple sources, with license holders receiving emails notifying them all correspondence would now be handled by NOAA’s Office of General Counsel. “This is a temporary arrangement to address continuity of operations as no senior personnel remain in the office due to reductions in force,” reads a copy of the email from the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) division seen by Breaking Defense. “CRSRA is unable to state when this arrangement might end.”. CRSRA is the division within NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce responsible for regulating space-based commercial remote sensing, including work involving companies such as Planet, Maxar and BlackSky that provide imagery to the National Reconnaissance Office for use by the Defense Department for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. NOAA, in turn, is under the Department of Commerce.
Firings sap NOAA office responsible for licensing remote sensing satellite firms – Breaking Defense
