Science operations with a laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics system is unlike any other type of observing. The observatory propagates a high-powered laser into the night sky, and we must protect various interests, including: other telescopes, passing aircraft, and orbiting satellites. At W. M. Keck Observatory we have pioneered many innovations allowing efficient, cost-effective, safe LGS operations. Our laser traffic control system (LTCS) coordinates observations with various telescopes on the mountain, identifying and even predicting when two telescope beams will cross each other, allowing time for one or both observatories to take mitigating action (such as moving to a new target, or switching to natural guide star AO). An important part of this is the overall philosophy and inter-observatory policies adopted. In the early days of LGS on Mauna Kea, the policy was that LGS telescopes had to yield to non-LGS telescopes should a conflict occur, but by agreement we are moving towards a more even-handed Òfirst-on-targetÓ policy. To protect aircraft flying over the mountain, traditionally observatories have used human aircraft spotters, sometimes supplementing them with other tools such as IR boresight cameras or all-sky optical cameras. Together with researchers at University of San Diego, we have implemented a new system called TBAD (Transponder-Based Aircraft Detection), which listens in on the ÒsquawksÓ from aircraft transponders to determine if the aircraft is approaching the laser beam., Our highly collimated laser light can damage detector systems on downward-looking satellites. We coordinate with the U. S. Space Command and the Laser Clearinghouse to avoid any potential damage. They keep track of orbital parameters of most of the spacecraft. We provide them a target list for each night of LGS observing, and they process it to provide a list of time periods during which we cannot propagate the laser towards individual targets. We use automated processing to monitor the telescope position in order to shut down the laser during these Òclosure windows.Ó (Such closures typically last seconds to tens of seconds.) The U. S. Space Command also informs us of Òblanket closures,Ó during which the laser is not to be propagated to sky under any circumstances. In the past these have lasted up to two days, which is very disruptive to LGS observing on a classically scheduled telescope. More recently relatively short blanket closures have been the norm. With LGS systems now on both Keck I and Keck II, these procedures and systems have been key to maintaining WMKOÕs world leadership in LGS-AO science for the past decade.