NASA to Chair Interagency Operations Advisory Group
Jim Schier, chief architect for NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program (SCaN) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, has been named the next chairperson of the Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG). The IOAG is a forum for international space agencies established to encourage coordination for mission operations, space communications, and navigation interoperability.
“As more nations and commercial entities operate in space, it’s imperative that everyone’s satellites and spacecraft, literally, work together,” said Schier, a NASA SCaN delegate to the IOAG since 2015. “The IOAG offers a critical, information-sharing forum here on the ground through which stakeholders can ensure their systems can talk with each other in space. I’m honored to be chosen to lead this important organization.”
The IOAG member agencies promote the development of technical or reference architectures and operations, as well as coordination among organizations to develop the associated standards and electromagnetic spectrum allocations to enable interoperable cross-support between space agencies. The IOAG’s lunar communication architecture helped form the basis for LunaNet, the communications architecture being developed by NASA in coordination with ESA (European Space Agency). Additional agencies and commercial providers have also begun participating in the LunaNet Interoperability Specification (LNIS) working groups, including JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). A shared architecture and standards will enable robust communication and navigation services for robotic and human exploration of the Moon, including the Artemis missions.
Schier was voted chair by IOAG delegates at a meeting hosted by UKSA (United Kingdom Space Agency) in June. He succeeds previous chair Pier Bargellini of ESA.
IOAG member agencies include: CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA, DLR (German Aerospace Center), ASI (Italian Space Agency), JAXA, NASA, and UKSA. Observer agencies include: ASA (Australian Space Agency), CNSA (China National Space Administration), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute), Roscosmos, SANSA (South African National Space Agency), and UAESA (United Arab Emirates Space Agency).