SkyTerra's former owners and management knew the satellite company's proposed ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) network would interfere with GPS devices even as it sought FCC approval and investor cash, said investors Harbinger Capital in a suit filed last week in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking more than $1.9 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. The suit, in docket 657515-2017, claims SkyTerra testing had shown its L-band network would interfere substantially with adjacent band GPS receivers but hid the information from the plaintiffs and the FCC. Harbinger in its suit said the complaint is unrelated to Ligado -- and Ligado's own ATC network plans, which have "been modified substantially from SkyTerra’s original application," including through the use of power limits. Ligado didn't comment Wednesday. SkyTerra became part of LightSquared -- now Ligado -- in 2010. Former SkyTerra owner Apollo Global Management said Wednesday the suit "lacks merit, and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”

SpaceX wants to participate in any FCC proceeding on Boeing's plans to hand off its 2016 application to operate a non-geostationary orbit satellite constellation to OneWeb Executive Chairman Greg Wyler (see 1712070055). In an International Bureau filing Thursday, SpaceX asked to be enrolled as a party in the proceeding.

SES wants to drift its C-band AMC-18 satellite from 104.95 degrees west to 139 degrees west. In an FCC International Bureau application Thursday, it said the relocation would let it provide backup capacity to AMC-8, also at 139 degrees west. It said AMC-18 already has been replaced at 104.95 degrees west by SES-11.

Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard rocket launched its first commercial payloads, the company said Thursday. The company said the Dec. 12 flight was the seventh overall launch of New Shepard and it carried 12 commercial, research and educational payloads.

ViaSat wants more time to complete its network of gateway earth stations that will tie into its ViaSat-2 broadband satellite. In a series of FCC International Bureau filings Thursday (for example, see here), the company said 21 of the 38 earth stations authorized early this year will be ready to begin operation within a month, but 17 require a one-year extension of their deadline, to Jan. 18, 2019. It said the delay was beyond ViaSat's control, stemming from delays in ViaSat-2's launch that in turn were due to delays with the satellite manufacturer, with third-party launches on the launch provider's manifest and "civil unrest at the launch site" in March. It said the ITU decided ViaSat-2 launch delays were due to unforeseeable conditions that resulted in an extension of when the satellite network needed to be brought into use. The company said some of the 17 gateways should be brought into service by mid-2018, but others likely will require up to a year.

Trimble is bringing its concerns about the Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to the FCC. In a docket 17-16 ex parte filing Friday, Trimble submitted its filing to the European GNSS Agency (GSA) in which it said the proposed free high-accuracy service to be provided as part of Galileo's GNSS service represents "a significant disruption" of the commercial market for providing precise point positioning services. Trimble told GSA it needs to consider whether such a service would be consistent with existing European Union (EU) and member state treaty obligations. It also said provision of free service under government sponsorship raises multilateral trade agreement questions, with the FCC in its 1997 order on allowing non-U.S. licensed satellites to provide service domestically having highlighted the importance of competition. Trimble also said there could be a disruption of U.S./EU reciprocity in GNSS, since the U.S.' 2010 national space policy also seeks promotion of a commercial space industry. Trimble said EU Galileo authorities should start consultations with U.S. GPS authorities under the U.S./EU 2004 agreement on Galileo and GPS use.

NASA completed the mission preliminary design review of SSL's Restore-L mission of low earth orbit satellite servicing, the company said Wednesday. It said NASA's next development milestone, the key decision point C, is scheduled for early 2018. It said that would be the third of six major NASA mission milestones leading up to final design and fabrication of the satellite servicing unit.

Ligado arguments Iridium is contradicting its own claims about interoperability with adjacent services (see 1712190029) are its latest attempt "to distort the facts for competitive gain," Iridium said Tuesday. "The FCC has seen through it in the past and will do so here," it said, saying it has "been nothing but consistent in its advocacy."

Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler, meeting with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, backed issuing an NPRM based on the company's joint proposal with Intel for opening parts of the C-band to terrestrial 5G operations (see 1710020047), said a docket 17-183 filing posted Tuesday. Intelsat, along with Intel, also talked with Chairman Ajit Pai's office (see 1712040062).

Promotion of space commerce through simplifying and updating regulations for commercial space activity is a Trump administration goal in Monday's U.S. national security strategy (see 1712180071). It said government, as it partners with commercial space capabilities to improve resiliency, will consider extending national security protections to such operators "as needed."