RESTON, VAThe China National Space Administration (CNSA) has been accepted as the eleventh full member organization of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). China's admission to the organization marks the first addition to the membership since 1997.
As the leading international organization for space communication standardization, CCSDS relies on its agency members to provide technical engineering support to its working groups. The addition of CNSA to the membership of CCSDS indicates the continued, broad international support for space communication standardization necessary to promote greater cooperation and interoperability among the space and ground assets of the major space exploration agencies around the world.
CNSA was created in 1993 to define China's national space policies and priorities. It has quickly become an important player in the international space arena, with cooperative agreements between more than ten international space agencies. CNSA's membership in CCSDS continues this trend of increased exposure and cooperation with the broader space community.
CNSA's has already begun implementation of CCSDS standards on some of its spacecraft. CCSDS protocols were successfully used to enable interoperability between CNSA and ESA in 2007.
In November of that year the CNSA Chang'e 1 lunar-orbiting spacecraft transmitted telemetry signals to ESA tracking stations which then relayed telecommands back to the satellite. This successful cross-support exercise was enabled by the CCSDS developed Advanced Orbiting Systems protocols.