As the mass of debris in orbit grows, so too does the risk of collision to critical space-based infrastructure. Space tracking capabilities must scale to match, but the capacity of existing dedicated sensors is falling behind, and the costs in time and money to construct additional sensors is significant. Today, we are amidst a global push to adapt existing non-traditional sensors—such as radars and radio telescopes constructed for deep space astronomy, weather prediction, or to atmospheric studies—for space tracking, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia is uniquely positioned to contribute to global tracking capabilities, if such adaptations prove viable; the continent covers a significant range of Southern latitudes and boasts a nation-wide array of powerful, VLBI-capable radio telescopes. But the sensitivity of a particular sensor is often matched by the demand for its time for other purposes, such as astronomy or geodesy. "Commensal" space situational awareness refers to a case where modification of the backend computer systems alone allows a particular sensor to detect and track objects in the near field, while also carrying out regular observations. This offers a tradeoff in sensor control and configuration for optimal uptime. Yet only a handful of commensal systems are in use today. Herein, we discuss key challenges faced by adapting different types of non-traditional sensors for commensal space situational awareness, including: steerable versus static arrays, the near field problem, real-time processing, using raw versus correlated data, costs associated with adaptation, and more.