Relying on standards, anti-jamming capabilities and customized offerings will help to boost overall cybersecurity in the satellite industry, but they won't be enough in times of cyberwarfare, Northern Sky Research analyst Charlotte Van Camp blogged Wednesday. Instead, there must be more investment in resilient systems and in streamlining cybersecurity between commercial satellite operators, government and end users, she said. Without that, risks, ease of access and cyber impacts will grow. End users also bear some responsibility, as they often have no or minimal methods for securing their data, creating security gaps for attackers to exploit.

Satellite constellations are inherently global operators, and regulators like the FCC have a responsibility to consider their global impact, the Royal Astronomical Society said Thursday, urging the International Bureau to delay approval of SpaceX's proposed second-generation constellation until it shows it can meet the standards developed by the International Astronomical Union. The RAU also asked the agency to end its exemption of large satellite constellations from environmental impact review. The commission didn't comment.

Viasat and Inmarsat parent Connect Topco gave complete responses to initial questions from the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, and the committee is now doing an initial review of whether Viasat/Inmarsat will pose a risk to U.S. national security or law enforcement interests, the multi-agency group told the FCC International Bureau Tuesday. Viasat's plan to buy Inmarsat for $7.3 billion was announced 12 months ago (see 2111080038).

If not for SpaceX's Starlink launches, U.S. launch cadence would be about half of what China is doing, said Astranis CEO John Gedmark in a Twitter thread last week. Since 2018, China's military space program's ramp-up has reached a launch a week, he said. "That is a crazy number of things being launched into space" and includes earth observation and communications satellites, modules for China's space station, its BeiDou global navigation satellite system and large numbers of classified satellite missions, he said. Gedmark said the U.S.' commercial space sector is a means of ensuring China doesn't dominate space, and the Space Force and NASA need to support those commercial operators.

Citing the National Academies of Sciences report on interference threats to its satellite system from Ligado emitters, Iridium continued to lobby the FCC for a stay of its Ligado order (see 2210240037), per a docket 12-340 ex parte filing Monday on meetings with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks.

The FCC should review whether its licensing of large satellite constellations typically has significant environmental effects, and set up a time frame and process for periodically reviewing its National Environmental Policy Act categorical exclusion, the GAO recommended Wednesday. Its report on the FCC environmental review process for mega constellations also recommended the agency make public the factors it considers when determining if an extraordinary circumstance requiring preparation of an environmental assessment or impact statement is present. The FCC said Thursday it will review the GAO recommendations.

Space infrastructure firm Redwire completed its purchase of QinetiQ Space, and received an $80 million investment from Bain Capital and AE Industrial Partners that will be used to finance the deal and support Redwire growth, Redwire said Tuesday. Redwire said the $31.6 million QinetiQ deal gives it larger scale and more ability to innovate across various growth areas, plus more exposure to European customers.

Viasat will get its requested six additional months (see 2208220003) to launch and begin operating its ViaSat-3 satellite, the FCC International Bureau said Monday. It said the extra time is needed due to COVID-19 pandemic-related delays beyond the company's control, and the new milestone date is April 30.

Stellantis and SiriusXM extended their distribution agreement into 2027, the companies said Monday. SiriusXM is standard across most of the carmaker’s vehicles, and SiriusXM with 360L, combining satellite and streaming service, will make its Alfa Romeo debut in the Tonale in spring and the Dodge Hornet later this year, they said.

OneWeb gave complete responses to initial questions from the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, and the committee now is doing an initial review of whether its U.S. market access grant modification will pose a risk to U.S. national security or law enforcement interests, the multi-agency group told the FCC International Bureau Monday. The review began in March (see 2203290001).