Up next for the FCC: Space communications

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski believes that the FCC has a new mission: helping set a framework for commercial communications in space. Last year, SpaceX began launching rockets under a temporary FCC license to use federal airwaves. “You need spectrum to control the rocket,” Chairman Genachowski explained, adding that rockets contain sensors that communicate to Earth and radar to determine location. Spectrum has other uses, too. “You need a self-destruct button,” he added.