Satellite operators seeking regulatory OK to operate in other nations are facing intensifying geopolitical tensions, with governments increasingly concerned with national security and disruption to local telcos, Valour Consultancy wrote Tuesday. It said SpaceX's Starlink and OneWeb are particularly susceptible to those tensions. They and other low earth orbit networks face greater regulatory scrutiny than geostationary orbit satellites, which can result in operation delays or denials, Valour said. Like Russia and China, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia also have shown reluctance to approve Western-affiliated networks, it said, adding that Amazon's Kuiper might end up facing similar hurdles.

Blue Origin is now aiming for an August launch for its Moon Lander MK1 Pathfinder mission, it told the FCC Space Bureau in a filing posted Wednesday. The proposed mission was originally expected in Q1 2025 (see 2408020001). The company told the bureau this week that once the lander touches down on the moon's surface, its mission there should take about 24 hours. Blue Origin anticipates using the S band for mission uplinks and downlinks, with the X band as a backup, it said.

The Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council asked the FCC Wireless Bureau to revisit some coordination procedures for commercial space launch service laid out in a public notice the bureau issued in March (see 2503260003). In a reconsideration petition posted Tuesday (docket 13-115), the organization challenged a limit on coordinating with primary aeronautical mobile telemetry operations that support flight testing in the 2360-2395 MHz band. The bureau decided to restrict the scope of coordination because there have been no complaints of harmful interference to date, which AFTRCC said ignores the fact that there have been few launches where using the 2360-2395 MHz Band was even a possibility. The group also asked for reconsideration of the decision not to require suborbital launch coordination requests to include duration of transmission information. In addition, it requested that the FCC reconsider the decision not to require space launch operators to make initial coordination requests at least 60 days before prospective launch windows. The bureau should clarify that new coordination is needed if the timing of a proposed launch changes to fall completely or partially outside a previously coordinated launch window, it said.

EchoStar has hired Maxar Space Systems to build the EchoStar XXVI geostationary orbit communications satellite, Maxar said Monday. XXVI, which is scheduled for delivery in 2028, will provide Dish Network satellite TV service to the U.S., it said. “Our ongoing investments across the board -- especially with EchoStar XXVI -- will ensure long-term access to our award-winning, satellite entertainment platform," said Gunter Kamper, senior vice president of Dish Technologies.

With its costs ballooning and delays mounting, the EU's proposed IRIS2 constellation appears increasingly at risk of losing government and industrial support, Quilty Space's Caleb Henry wrote Friday. Among its problems, he cited a long list of requirements that add to its complexity. IRIS2 is supposed to be a sovereign alternative to SpaceX yet is smaller and features more expensive user terminals, Henry said. IRIS2 is also seeing less support than anticipated, with partners SES and Eutelsat stretched financially and operationally and Hispasat in the midst of being acquired, he added.

Citing the uncertainty around its spectrum rights because of FCC issues, EchoStar said Friday it had opted to forgo making a $326 million cash interest payment due that day on corporate debt that matures in 2029. In an SEC filing, EchoStar said the nonpayment counts as a default on the 2029 notes, but it pointed out that it has a 30-day grace period to make the payment, giving the FCC time to provide the relief the company requested. If the commission grants EchoStar relief, "we may confidently continue investing in our network buildout and expansion of our Boost business" and mobile satellite service offerings. The company this week asked the FCC to deny VTel Wireless' petition for reconsideration on an extension of EchoStar's 5G network buildout deadlines and to confirm that it has satisfied the 2024 commitments it made for that extension (see 2505280002).

The second batch of Amazon's Kuiper satellites is scheduled to launch June 13, United Launch Alliance said Thursday. They will be launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on an Atlas V 551 rocket, the alliance said. The inaugural batch of Kuipers launched in April (see 2504290001).

Satellite operator Iridium and communications technology company Syniverse are partnering to offer direct-to-device connectivity to mobile network operators. They said Thursday the offering will come through integration of Iridium's NTN Direct service with Syniverse's global platform. The first Iridium NTN Direct connected devices are scheduled to become available in 2026.

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.