Iridium is trying to have it both ways on interoperability -- or lack thereof -- with Ligado, Ligado said in an RM-11681 FCC ex parte filing posted Monday on meeting International Bureau staffers including Chief Tom Sullivan. It said Iridium complains that Ligado's requested license modification for a broadband terrestrial wireless network would interfere with Iridium terminals but claims its new Certus receivers tied to its Next constellation (see 1704140008) can coexist with any adjacent operator following FCC out-of-band emissions (OOBE) limits. Ligado said its ancillary terrestrial component broadband operations for which it's seeking the license modification would produce OOBE at levels below the limits. Ligado said Iridium is inconsistent in claiming both that its Certus receivers generally wouldn't operate near GPS users and that its terminals are used in a variety of urban and suburban areas. Ligado said the bureau should resolve such inconsistencies before acting on Certus authorization. Iridium didn't comment Tuesday. It previously criticized Ligado's terrestrial plans and interference (see 1708040029 and 1709260048).
Fewer than half smallsat systems in development will likely launch, Northern Sky Research said Monday. An estimated 5,000 smallsats will launch within the next decade, driving a cumulative $25 billion in manufacturing and launch services, NSR said. It said 70 percent of the smallsats will come in constellations, and North America and Asia are the largest near-term opportunities, given their developed satellite ecosystems and growth prospects in communications, earth observation and science applications. The researcher said more than 300 smallsats were launched in 2017 and several new systems began deployment.
Ligado wants to extend the license term for MSAT-2 for a year, through Dec. 1. In an FCC International Bureau filing Friday, it said most MSAT-2 customers have been transitioned to its replacement, SkyTerra 1, but some customers still receiving service via MSAT-2 asked that Ligado continue to provide that. The company said at conclusion of the extension there will be enough fuel on MSAT-2 for deorbiting maneuvers.
A potential change to orbital debris mitigation rules by the FAA was included in the Trump administration's unified agenda of regulatory and deregulatory actions released last week (see 1712140057). The debris NPRM proposes to more closely align FAA rules with U.S. government orbital debris mitigation standard practices, and would update current launch collision avoidance rules to match U.S. Strategic Command practices. The unified agenda also included an NPRM to clarify and streamline commercial space transportation rules, allowing specified preflight operations before license approval; to remove "obsolete, non-functional, and in some cases duplicative" ground safety regulations; and expand the term of a reusable launch vehicle license and re-entry operator license from two years to five years. It also included an NPRM codifying statutory requirements mandated by the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act such as updating definitions relating to commercial space launch and re-entry vehicles and occupants. The agency said it would enable commercial space applicants to retain experimental permits despite issuance of licenses. And the agenda included an NPRM on alignment of FAA commercial space requirements for protecting ships during launches or re-entries with Air Force practices.
Updated FCC rules for non-geostationary orbit satellite constellations adopted in September (see 1709260035) take effect Jan. 18, said a notice to be published in Monday's Federal Register. It said certain rules amendments that require data collection have to first be approved by the Office of Management and Budget, with those amendments' effective dates to be published later.
SiriusXM could face materially higher copyright expenses after Thursday's Copyright Royalty Board determination of a 41 percent hike, the company said in an SEC filing Friday. It said it's still evaluating the CRB terms and rates announced, and it anticipates evaluating changes in pricing. It said the determination likely will mean higher aggregate royalty expenses annually starting next year. SiriusXM said it will have to pay a royalty of 15.5 percent of gross revenue, subject to exclusions and adjustments, for the five years ending Dec. 31, 2022, up from its current 11 percent. The company didn't comment further. SoundExchange said CRB didn't adopt the rates it advocated, but the ruling "demonstrates an important step in the right direction toward valuing the contributions of the music creators." It said the decision reinforces the need to amend the Copyright Act Section 801(b) rate standards for satellite radio and some cable radio services. American Federation of Musicians said the rate increase is welcome, but "our broken copyright system still allows this wildly profitable company to underpay for recorded music based on a below-market standard." SiriusXM shares closed down 5.1 percent at $5.37.
ViaSat opened offices in Austin, Seattle and Amsterdam, the latter as it seeks international work and each with technical and engineering specializations that include security engineering, software and cloud functions, it said Thursday.
The U.S. will "lead [a] program of exploration with commercial and international partners" that starts with missions beyond low earth orbit, then exploration and use of the moon, followed by manned missions to Mars, President Donald Trump said in an amendment to the 2010 national space policy in Thursday's Federal Register. It replaced a directive that NASA begin crewed missions beyond the moon by 2025 and a manned orbit of Mars by the mid-2030s.
Leidos received a two-year experimental license to test functionality and evaluate the performance of the ViaSat VR-18 satcom terminal installed on de Havilland 8 aircraft. Leidos said it will test the aircraft-mounted antenna for system reliability and performance in the Ku-band, with that testing supporting the use of such antenna on aircraft supporting DOD intelligence operations. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved the license Wednesday.
FCC staffers "are in the early stages" of reviewing the agency's orbital debris mitigation rules to see what changes might be needed, particularly in light of numerous proposed smallsat constellations, Chairman Ajit Pai wrote Senate Commerce Committee members Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Pai said the FCC will explore establishing an interagency working group on debris mitigation. Pai's letter released recently and dated Nov. 21 responded to calls from the lawmakers about coordination with NASA and the FAA on a comprehensive mitigation policy (see 1710020036).