Small-satellite operators need to be concerned with growing space debris problems because such satellites are generally less agile in orbit, with underpowered propulsion systems, and because the proliferation of planned smallsat constellations is a likely debris source, space investing firm Space Angels blogged Monday. It said beyond commercial approaches being proposed, such as better debris tracking, the smallsat industry has an obligation to self-police -- perhaps through the proposed Smallsat Space Traffic Safety Consortium -- before a catastrophic incident leads "to reactionary government regulations after the fact."
Globecomm rejoined the Satellite Industry Association, SIA said in a news release Monday. It said the satcom services company left last year.
Total global revenue for the commercial satellite ground segment should top $158 billion between 2016 and 2026, Northern Sky Research said in a news release Monday. It said satellite TV set-top boxes and antennas will remain the biggest source of shipments and revenue, but that the biggest driver of growth will be very small aperture platform modems and baseband equipment driven by such industries as mobility and consumer broadband. NSR also said applications like aeronautical satcom should see big growth, while satcom earth stations will shrink. NSR said low-end antennas are becoming a commodity, while flat panel antennas could be a disruptive technology for segments of the market.
The coming generation of larger launch vehicles doesn't raise different regulatory approval issues from existing rockets because the new rockets have to meet the same public safety requirements, the FAA emailed Monday, confirming what satellite and launch experts said (see 1708180008). The agency said proposed launch vehicles might have "unique" hazards such as larger propellant loads or flying back multiple boosters to land at the same time, but it will treat these vehicles "just like existing vehicles." The FAA said it will identify each new launch vehicle’s hazards and require launch operators to mitigate these hazards. It also said the size of launch vehicles isn't what drives the need for new regulatory review techniques.
As part of FCC updates to parts 2 and 25 rules, SpaceX is recommending the agency require non-geostationary (NGSO) system operators share real-time beam pointing information through a neutral third-party clearinghouse as a way to avoid false in-line events. In docket 16-408 ex parte filing posted Friday, the company also said it recommended to International Bureau representatives that the agency adopt on-axis and off-axis equivalent isotropically radiated power limits for uplinks from all NGSO earth stations as a route to facilitation of sharing. And it said the FCC should clarify how it will process NGSO applicants' future requests for modifying their constellations, such as for the launch of more satellites than those reflected in their applications.
An executive order or legislation could make black and white the gray regulatory issues around the Outer Space Treaty and NASA's planetary protection policy and how they apply to nontraditional private-sector space operations, space lawyer Laura Montgomery blogged Tuesday. An executive order would be "a perfect vehicle" for ensuring the FCC, FAA and NOAA don't deny private operators space access through treaty provisions that don't apply and aren't self-executing, or Congress could act similarly, she said.
The U.S.' $396,353 bill of costs should be rejected entirely because the federal government, unlike the four plaintiff states in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act complaint against Dish Network, didn't provide any supporting documentation for its costs request, Dish Network said in an objection (in Pacer) filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois. It said much of the costs are in categories not recognized by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as recoverable, such as $233,278 seemingly spent on discovery expenses in the TCPA lawsuit brought by the federal government and California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio. The court in June issued a $280 million verdict against Dish (see 1706060069). The FTC didn't comment Wednesday.
Blockchain technology company Blockstream will start routing bitcoin transactions via satellite, CEO Adam Back blogged Tuesday. He said the service, using a geosynchronous satellite network, will allow free global access to the bitcoin network and is a step to eventual mass adoption: "For Bitcoin to be truly transformative, it must be everywhere, available for everyone."
Pushes to expand the FCC's look at updates to Parts 2 and 25 rules to include earth stations in motion communications with non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites and broader use of the 10.7-10.95 GHz spectrum band (see 1708010017) don't address compatibility with radio astronomy operations, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) said in a docket 17-95 filing posted Monday. NRAO said 10.68-10.7 GHz is a passive service band, and it's coordinating radio astronomy use of the band with prospective fixed satellite service operators of NGSO constellations wanting to use the adjacent downlink spectrum at 10.7-12.75 GHz. It said compatibility between FSS and radio operations doesn't work when the radio astronomy sites are illuminated by the main beams of satellites using the lowest channel for the downlink spectrum.
SES wants to move its AMC-1 satellite in December to make way for the forthcoming SES-15. In an FCC International Bureau filing Thursday, the company also asked for an extension of AMC-1's license term through June 2021. AMC-1 is at 129.15 degrees west, where SES-15 is to go by late this year or early next, and SES said it wants to relocate AMC-1 to 130.9 degrees. The company said transitioning traffic from a wide-beam satellite to a spot-beam satellite can't be done with collocated satellites as it can be with wide-beam satellites. It said once SES-15 is operational at 129.15 degrees west and traffic is transferred to it, AMC-1 will be available to provide additional Ku-band capacity and to supplement the C-band capacity being provided by AMC-11 at that position.