Commerce is moving toward a space regulatory framework where there will be one centralized response, instead of commercial space missions having to deal with a variety of offices, Deputy Secretary Don Graves said Wednesday at the Space Foundation's Space Symposium. That vision "may take a little bit of time to implement," he said. That vision, part of the agency's strategic plan, comes as it has established the Commercial Space Coordination Committee as a forum to engage with the agency across departments and offices on space issues, he said. He said Commerce continues to work toward the September 2024 deadline for taking over space situational awareness data and services from DOD, though added it's "not a lot of time." As part of that SSA effort, the SSA system has been rebranded the Traffic Coordination System, he said.

Comments are due May 18, responses May 29 and replies to responses June 2 on SpaceX and T-Mobile filings seeking to establish supplemental coverage from space service for T-Mobile's mobile network using SpaceX's Starlink satellites (see 2302080001), the FCC Space Bureau said Tuesday in docket 23-135.

All incumbent C-band satellite operators agree the FCC Wireless Bureau should publish a public notice by mid-May that would kick off the process for filing and validating C-band Phase II accelerated relocation certifications, Intelsat, SES, Telesat, Eutelsat and Embratel representatives told Wireless Bureau and offices of International Affairs and General Counsel staffers, per a docket 18-122 filing Tuesday. Before June 1, the relocation coordinator should file the final list of incumbent earth station Phase II claims and assignments, and the FCC should open a window for the satellite operators to update their transition plans and for submitting their Phase II certifications, they urged. Intelsat, SES and Telesat put forth the June 1 schedule proposal earlier this month (see 2304060026).

In meetings with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and the regular commissioners, OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson repeated the company's opposition to a proposed sunset of non-geostationary orbit interference protection for later-round systems and it's urging that if there's to be a sunset it should be 15 years (see 2304120023), per filings Monday in docket 21-456. Also at the Rosenworcel meeting was Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, majority OneWeb shareholder. Intelsat said it met with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks to repeat its case for deferring action on any sunset (see 2304140033).

All indications are the C-band Phase II accelerated clearing is on schedule, the relocation coordinator said Monday in a docket 18-122 status report. It said satellite operators haven't indicated they won't meet their Dec. 5 milestones, it said. Eutelsat, Intelsat and Telesat said they completed their respective satellite service migration, SES said its migration is on schedule, and Embratel has no satellite service migration to do, the report said.

Space consultancy Quilty Analytics is now Quilty Space, it emailed Friday.

Satellite operators continue to lobby on the interference protection sunset proposed in the non-geostationary orbit spectrum sharing draft order in the FCC's April agenda (see 2304120023). Amazon's Kuiper called the proposed 10-year sunset "a reasonable compromise" in docket 21-456 Friday, countering arguments for a longer one. OneWeb's 15-year proposal "is far longer than necessary to secure stability for earlier-round systems," it said, saying there's no evidence that 10 years would chill investment in the satellite industry. Amazon argued previously for a six-year sunset period (see [Re:2302240062]). In a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, OneWeb repeated its arguments for a 15-year sunset. Intelsat urged deferring the sunset issue to the Further NPRM, saying there's not strong consensus in the record. In a filing on meetings with aides to Rosenworcel, it said the agency should make clear it intends to adopt a sunset but said 10 years is unnecessarily long and there are too many questions and issues over whether the trigger should be tied to the earlier-round or later-round system. Any sunset "would penalize pioneering providers, threaten service continuity, and discourage coordination by later systems who can simply 'wait out' the sunset period," SES/O3b representatives told the commissioners and Space Bureau staffers. If the FCC opts for a sunset, 15 years would encourage operators to coordinate, it said.

The FCC Space Bureau signed off on transfer of Maxar Technologies' FCC licenses to private equity firm Advent International, per a notation last week. The transfer is part of Advent's $6.4 billion purchase of Maxar (see 2212190010).

Viasat's ViaSat-3 broadband satellite to cover the Americas is scheduled to go up Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, it said Thursday.

With an additional $92 million in hand from Series C fundraising, Kepler Communications said Thursday it plans to launch an optical data relay infrastructure of relay satellites next year to deliver data to and from other satellites. It said it plans to launch two Pathfinder satellites this fall to test and validate its optical communications technology.