The 51.4-52.4 GHz band is currently allocated domestically for fixed and mobile services, but there's robust evidence supporting its use for satellite communications, the FCC said Tuesday as it released the satellite spectrum Further NPRM adopted at its May 22 meeting (see 2505220056). The draft FNPRM was limited to asking about opening the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands to satcom. The adopted version added the 51.4-52.4 GHz, 92-94 GHz, 94.1-100 GHz, 102-109.5 GHz and 111.8-114.25 GHz bands. It also asks about creating a domestic fixed satellite service allocation in the 52.14-52.4 GHz allocation; whether that allocation's use should be limited to non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites; and whether limits on unwanted power emissions could ensure NGSO compatibility with space research operations in the nearby 52.6-54.25 GHz band. In addition, it seeks comment on whether any satellite use of the 92.0-94.0 GHz, 94.1-100 GHz, 102.0-109.5 GHz and 111.8-114.25 GHz bands should be limited to gateway unlinks for NGSO systems, as well as about the possibility of extending the self-coordinated and data-assisted “light-licensing” framework for the 70/80/90 GHz band to those W-band frequencies.

Obtaining and maintaining a satellite license is more expensive in the U.S. than anywhere else, and the FCC should eliminate the surety bond requirement for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites, Astranis said in a pair of docket 25-133 filings posted Friday. The company recapped meetings with the FCC Space Bureau and Commissioner Nathan Simington's office about the surety bond and the agency's regulatory fees. It said the bond requirement disproportionately affects new entrants because companies without long-term banking relationships or big balance sheets must pay a fee to a bank to issue the bond, as well as set aside substantial collateral.

Ligado has tentatively reached an agreement with Inmarsat settling disputes related to Ligado's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Milbank financial restructuring lawyer Andrew Leblanc, who represents Ligado, said Thursday. In a status conference (docket 25-10006) before U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas Horan, Leblanc said the agreement, also tentatively approved by AST SpaceMobile and two ad hoc creditor groups, would resolve the Inmarsat disputes and allow Ligado's transaction with AST to go through. Ligado has said its AST deal, with AST compensating Ligado for access to the latter's spectrum, is key to its Chapter 11 reorganization (see 2501060026). Leblanc didn't give the court details of the agreement, saying that the parties are still exchanging updated versions of term sheets. The finalized terms would be incorporated into a revised AST order, he said: "Nothing is done until it's done," but a final agreement could be before the court in days.

SpaceX can launch its Starship heavy-lift rocket again, the FAA said Thursday. The agency said SpaceX "has satisfactorily addressed the causes" of its launch mishap March 6, when the Super Heavy booster took off and returned safely but the company lost control of and contact with the Starship rocket.

Coordination with federal spectrum users is the biggest regulatory challenge in the bands where Capella Space operates, the synthetic aperture radar satellite operator told FCC leadership. In a docket 25-133 filing posted Thursday, Capella recapped 10th-floor meetings at which it said coordinating with federal users can take longer than the FCC's licensing process. Other issues cited included the variation in coordination restrictions from license to license based on unpredictable factors and licensees not having the information they need to avoid congested frequencies and locations. Capella asked the FCC to help mitigate the coordination challenges by sending application materials for coordination as early as possible and improving communication with other agencies. The company also urged the agency to reduce its surety bond requirement for some satellite licenses by making it subject to a one-year grace period rather than the 30-day deadline. The Capella staffers met with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, the offices of Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz.

SpaceX is now launching about 2,000 Starlink satellites every 12 months and may exceed that this year, Quilty Space said Wednesday. The company has kept up that deployment rate even as it introduced larger satellite iterations, which didn't fit as well on its Falcon 9 rocket, Quilty said. As the number of satellites on each Falcon 9 launch dropped from 60 to 22, SpaceX's launch rate has increased, the analysis said. It said SpaceX's introduction of direct-to-device Starlink satellites in May 2024 modestly slowed broadband deployment, taking eight months to launch 1,000 broadband satellites. SpaceX has started conducting more Falcon 9 launches with the V2 Mini version of Starlink, which has 22% less mass, so 29 can fit on each Falcon 9, Quilty said: That satellite iteration is likely to be the last generation of Starlinks to fly on the Falcon 9 before SpaceX moves to V3s, which are designed to launch on the company's Starship rocket.

As part of quantum computing company IonQ's planned purchase of Capella Space (see 2505080048), they're asking the FCC to sign off on transfer of Capella's licenses to IonQ. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Wednesday, the companies said the deal also needs NOAA approval. They said Capella has FCC authorizations to launch and operate 15 satellites and has four in orbit now. The Capella acquisition is intended to strengthen IonQ’s position in quantum networking technologies to be used to build the quantum internet and related infrastructure for the space economy, the application said.

Starfish Space is planning a satellite servicing demonstration mission, Otter Pup 2, that will launch this summer and conduct the first docking with a commercial satellite in low earth orbit, the company said Tuesday. Starfish also has satellite servicing missions scheduled in 2026 for Intelsat, NASA and Space Force.

SpaceX -- which has petitioned the FCC for greater access to the 2 GHz band (see 2402230027) -- is now seeking agency approval to use parts of the band in its second-generation satellites. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Thursday, SpaceX said its previous request for 2 GHz access was rejected on the basis of EchoStar providing a 2 GHz mobile satellite service (MSS) in the U.S., yet EchoStar's plans "never happened." SpaceX said EchoStar is using at most 5% of the band clustered in a few densely populated areas. Moreover, it said, EchoStar management has told Wall Street it doesn't have plans to launch additional satellites in the near term. "Since EchoStar has no satellite operations in the 2 GHz band and no meaningful terrestrial network, the fundamental premise underlying the Commission’s expectation that it would dismiss new MSS applications no longer holds true," SpaceX said. "EchoStar has squatted on its spectrum rights for a decade with little to show for it."

The FCC made a mistake when it put a greater portion of satellite regulatory fees on the backs of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) licensees, reducing the burden on GSO licensees, and should reverse the unfair allocation, SpaceX told an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. In a docket 24-85 filing posted Tuesday, SpaceX said that if the agency instead goes forward with its proposed alternative regulatory fee methodology for satellites, it should use a logarithmic scale rather than relying on the size of a constellation.