014. Renaming the service
Date: 2024-01-24
Status
Accepted
Context
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has been developing and administering a collision avoidance service for UK satellite operators called ‘Monitor your satellites’ since 2020. However, UKSA always intended to expand the breadth of space situational awareness services available on the platform as it moved into public beta. In autumn 2023, UKSA decided to extend the service to include re-entry alerts and adapt the service to be appropriate for a wider range of users (including users across the UK government).
A new name for the service was therefore needed to:
- Reflect use cases in which the user does not own the satellite/object in question, such as government users
- Reflect use cases related to hazards which are not caused by payloads (which are in common parlance referred to as satellites)
In January 2024, the UK Space Agency began considering a new name for the service.
Decision
The new name chosen for the service is ‘Monitor Space Hazards’. This name was chosen through several workshops with UKSA staff, supported by market research. The new name aimed to meet best practice naming conventions from the Government Digital Service, while incorporating the full range of new use cases that may be incorporated into the service in the future.
However, the service must also clearly indicate that it is a part of the National Space Operations Centre Warning and Protection Services. Therefore, while the official digital service name will be Monitor Space Hazards, the key title on the service homepage will read ‘National Space Operations Centre Warning and Protection Services.’ Considering the users of the service will largely be technical/specialist, and already working in the space sector, tying the service to the new National Space Operations Centre was deemed important.
Consequences
The new service name will more accurately describe what the service does once it has expanded to include new users and new use cases.