Space and Wireless Interests Weigh In on Space Launch Coordinator Process
The FCC received feedback from space and wireless interests in docket 24-687 on selection of a space launch frequency coordinator (SLFC) for the agency's space launch service, and in docket 13-115 regarding licensing and frequency coordination procedures and data requirements. Comments were due Wednesday in both. The space launch spectrum allocation order adopted in 2023 (see 2309210055) requires that launch operators seeking to use the 2025–2110 MHz or 2200–2290 MHz band complete a frequency coordination process with a third-party coordinator.
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Warning of inadvertent complications by having a multistep process for registering, coordinating and confirming the coordinated operational parameters for each launch, SpaceX said data collection, coordination and certifications should be consolidated under the third-party coordinator. It also pushed for the FCC to ensure that, when feasible, the coordinator allows direct collaboration between launch service providers and other spectrum users.
Blue Origin said coordination between federal and non-federal users should start with an initial "screening" procedure, informing a prospective space launch service user of known conflicts with other users of the band.
United Launch Alliance said a coordination framework should protect proprietary or competitively sensitive information from public disclosure. It said space and aeronautical station coordination procedures for operations in the 2025-2110 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz, and 2360-2395 MHz bands can be good models for co-frequency space launch registration and coordination. Moreover, it urged assigning different frequency bands to commercial and government users based on geographic regions, thus avoiding interference, and implementing exclusion zones where only one type of user -- such as commercial or government -- can operate.
Federated Wireless urged integration of automation into the SLFC process. Considering the way the SLFC needs to interface with NTIA's automated coordination mechanisms, SLFC applicants should be required to show their ability to implement automated machine-to-machine coordination processes, it said. Applicants also should have to disclose their proposed fee structures and expected timeframes for completing coordination.
A third-party coordinator should have a record of working with spectrum users and experience with the coordination process, the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council said. AFTRCC said the SLFC should convene regular meetings with stakeholders in each band to review the coordination framework. Experience with automated portals also should be a factor in the coordinator selection process, AFTRCC said, adding that it's interested in becoming SLFC.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers said coordination requests should include data beyond what the FCC proposes. It also said the FCC should make clear that each space launch event requires coordination.