The United States and Australia signed the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) permitting an advanced exchange of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data, according to the Defense Department.

SSA exchanges will assist partners with activities such as launch support, maneuver planning, support for on-orbit anomaly resolution, electromagnetic interference reporting and investigation, support for launch anomalies de-commissioning activities and on-orbit conjunction assessments.

“Many nations share the space domain and it is in our best interest to create an environment where the sharing of SSA data facilitates transparency and improves flight safety,” U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) chief Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler said yesterday in a statement.

The agreement streamlines the process for Australia to make specific requests about space data gathered by STRATCOM’s Joint Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. This information, which includes locations of some 23,000 man-made objects in space, is critical in planning launches in the increasingly crowded space domain, according to STRATCOM.