FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plugged FCC proposals on orbital debris, (in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) and the agency’s new focus on space, in remarks at the Global Aerospace Summit Wednesday. “Right now there are thousands of metric tons of orbital debris in the air above,” Rosenworcel said of the draft item set for the agency’s September meeting. The item proposes shortening deorbiting requirements from 25 years to five. “We need to address it. Because if we don’t, this space junk could constrain new opportunities,” she said. “I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort.” The FCC’s focus on space matters is intended to help the U.S. “lead in this new space age and emerging space economy,” she said. “I am proud to say that we have increased the size of the agency division responsible for satellite matters by 38 percent.”

Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee Chairman John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said Tuesday he and ranking member Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., led filing of the Orbital Sustainability Act in a bid to create a "demonstration program" to partner with industry in developing technology for remediating space debris objects. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., signed on as original co-sponsors. The measure would require the Commerce Department to work with the FCC and National Space Council on developing and promoting standard practices for avoiding collisions and near hits between spacecraft in orbit. It would require the Space Council to update its orbital debris mitigation standards and encourage the FCC to use those updated standards as the basis for its own space-related regulations. Hickenlooper eyed space debris legislation earlier this year following House Commerce Committee leaders' circulation of two draft bills to revamp the FCC's low earth orbit satellite licensing rules (see 2202180044). "Our society is reliant on satellites in orbit, yet space junk is a constant, growing threat,” Hickenlooper said: “Space debris endangers everything from global communications to advanced weather forecasting to human space exploration."

Comments on an FCC notice of inquiry on in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing are due Oct. 31, replies Nov. 28, said a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register. The NOI broadly seeks comment on ways the agency can help the new industry (see 2208050023).

The Commerce Department and the DOD have signed a memorandum of agreement on basic space situational awareness (SSA), space traffic management (STM), and civil and commercial coordination, said an emailed news release Friday. “The agreement defines how the two departments will work cooperatively to implement the National Space Council’s Space Policy Directive 3,” which “seeks to advance SSA and STM science and technology; provide federally-supported basic SSA data and STM services to the public; and improve SSA data interoperability to enable greater SSA data sharing,” the release said. The MOA was also signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb, and the leadership of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. Commerce and DOD “recognize the need for new approaches to coordinate and manage space activities in an accessible and meaningful way for the private sector will help maintain U.S. economic leadership in space,” the release said.

HawkEye 360 is seeking some technical amendments to its constellation license, including an altitude change from 500-615 kilometers to 475-615 kilometers "to account for a growing trend of launch vehicles deploying spacecraft at lower altitudes," it said in an FCC International Bureau application Tuesday.

Warning about the possibility of SpaceX's proposed satellite reconfiguration and expansion impairing competition, Amazon's Kuiper representatives told FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks the agency must ensure "an incremental, evidence-based expansion" of SpaceX’s operating authority, per a docket 18-313 ex parte post Wednesday.

SpaceX wants to add 1.6 GHz- and 2.4 GHz-band transceivers to its first-generation satellites to give it more spectrum options when offering mobile satellite services, it told the FCC International Bureau Tuesday in an application to modify its first-gen constellation license. SpaceX said after evaluating current use of the mobile satellite service bands, it determined it can serve customers in the band without causing harmful interference to other licensed systems. It said it also wants to use the 2020-2025 MHz band for uplinks, and requested a waiver since there's no MSS allocation in the band. The company also has a pending request that its first-gen constellation be authorized to use the 2 GHz band (see 2207260005).

The "slow and cumbersome approach" of the DOD and intelligence community to incorporating commercial satellite imaging capabilities means the U.S. could lose a technological advantage over emerging competitors like China, the GAO said Wednesday. It urged the defense secretary and director of national intelligence to set out clear roles and responsibilities in the various agencies for acquisition of commercial satellite imagery and that they assess different approaches for incorporating and scaling commercial satellite capabilities into operational support contracts.

Meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, SpaceX repeated its stances on orbital debris rules, including shortening post-mission orbital lifetime to five years, requiring maneuverability capabilities for operations above the International Space Station, and publishing of ephemerids and covariance data that would help with coordination, the company said in docket 18-313 Friday.

Congress, working with NASA and commercial space operators, should look at crafting market mechanisms that incentivize orbital debris mitigation and technology, and at investing in and testing innovations to remove debris in low earth orbit, Joshua Levine, American Action Forum technology and innovation policy analyst, wrote Thursday. Domestic and international guidelines for reducing orbital debris are largely voluntary and carry almost no consequence for violation, he said.