A few months before President John F. Kennedy kicked off America’s first space age, the U.S. launched the first communications satellite ever to go into orbit — Telstar 1. That launch was initiated by the FCC under Chairman Newton Minow, according to current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She updated attendees of the Global Aerospace Summit last week on the agency’s actions to update its rules concerning communications satellites in time for America’s second space age.
The moves relate to the wireless industry as more carriers seek to make satellite-delivered broadband and voice services part of their consumer offerings. Just to name a few stories that Inside Towers has covered include:
- T-Mobile plans to use SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites next year to bring connectivity to mobile phones beyond the reach of its cell towers in the U.S.
- SpaceX will launch internet service satellites for Low earth orbit satellite communications company OneWeb.
- Amazon secured launches to put more than 1,500 satellites into low earth orbit for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation over five years.
The Commission oversees communications satellites, but now there are many more launches than before and new business models for satellite companies. So, the FCC is revamping its regulatory framework for satellites. The current rules “were designed for a time when going to space was astronomically expensive and limited to the prowess of our political superpowers,” said Rosenworcel. “No one imagined commercial space tourism taking hold; no one believed crowd-funded satellites and mega constellations at low-Earth orbit were possible; and no one could have conceived of the sheer popularity of space entrepreneurship.”
The agency is working to speed up the commercial satellite licensing process and “bulking up” its ranks to accomplish this, according to the Chairwoman. It’s added more engineers and space policy experts.
On July 1, the FCC kicked off a Notice of Inquiry to support new in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing capabilities, Inside Towers reported. It’s also freeing up more spectrum in the 17 GHz band to support the growing demand for space-based services and allocations. The agency says for the first time, it’s devoting spectrum in the 2200-2290 MHz band to supporting commercial space launches. It’s also cleared the way for more satellite operators to use the 50.4-51.4 GHz band.
More recently, Rosenworcel proposed rules to clear space of orbital debris faster, Inside Towers reported. She proposed requiring satellite operators deorbiting satellites five years after their missions ends, instead of the current 25-year period. “Right now, there are thousands of metric tons of orbital debris in the air above. We need to address it. Because if we don’t, this space junk could constrain new opportunities,” she told the Global Aerospace Summit.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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