Satellite

The Federal Communications Commission proposed to further simplify and streamline its rules governing satellite communications. One significant proposal is to create a new unified license for space stations and earth stations operating in a geostationary orbit, fixed-satellite service network. The proposed unified network license would eliminate redundancies in the separate licensing processes for satellites and earth stations.

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to facilitate the continued deployment of earth stations used to provide satellite-based services on ships, airplanes, and vehicles by advancing proposals to create a regulatory framework for non-geostationary orbit satellites (NGSOs) to communicate with these earth stations. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on a regulatory framework that would expand the FCC's rules for Earth Stations in Motion (ESIMs) to cover communications with NGSO satellites operating in the fixed-satellite service (FSS) and would be similar to the regime

The Federal Communications Commission initiated a comprehensive review of its orbital debris mitigation rules. Orbital debris, also known as space debris, consists of a variety of objects, including non-functional satellites, that are orbiting the Earth. Debris can pose a risk to operations in Earth orbit, including satellites and manned spacecraft, and in some instances, pieces of debris falling back to Earth can pose a risk to persons and property on the surface of the Earth.

The Federal Communications Commission granted in part the European Commission’s request for a waiver of the FCC’s rules so that non-Federal devices in the United States may access specific signals transmitted from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) known as Galileo. The Order does not grant access to the Galileo E6 signal, which is transmitted over the 1260- 1300 MHz frequency band, since this band is not allocated for RNSS in the United States or used by the US GPS to provide PNT services. The FCC noted that granting access to the Galileo E6 signal could constrain U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, November 15, 2018:

The internet is an invisible mesh that enables instantaneous global communications, but delivering all those bits quickly to more people in more places requires increasingly exotic approaches. Here are a few things you may not realize about how communication pipes work around the world:

Apparently, SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk flew to the Seattle (WA) area in June for meetings with engineers leading a satellite launch project crucial to his space company’s growth. Within hours of landing, Musk had fired at least seven members of the program’s senior management team, the culmination of disagreements over the pace at which the team was developing and testing its Starlink satellites. Musk quickly brought in new managers from SpaceX headquarters in CA to replace a number of the managers he fired.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the Nov Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, Nov 15, 2018:
Galileo Order – The Commission will consider an Order that addresses waivers of certain satellite licensing requirements for receive-only earth stations operating with the Galileo Radionavigation-Satellite Service. (IB Docket No. 17-16)