With an eye to a mid-2026 launch of its prototype in-space refueling vehicle, Astroscale is seeking FCC approval for launch and operation. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Tuesday, Astroscale said the craft is under construction via a cost-share contract from U.S. Space Systems Command. It is planned that the vehicle will conduct two refueling demonstrations with the Space Force in supersynchronous geostationary orbit, beyond the geostationary arc. The vehicle will operate in X-band uplinks and downlinks, Astroscale said.

SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh met with FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington to expedite its review of the company's proposed takeover of Intelsat. In a docket 24-267 filing posted Tuesday, SES said it noted that the transaction has been pending for almost eight months and that it wants to close on Intelsat by June, given the increasingly competitive satellite communications universe. The $3.1 billion deal is expected to get a regulatory green light (see 2404300048).

Expect satellite IoT adoption to take off due to standardization advancements, Counterpoint said Friday. The Third Generation Partnership Project's Release 17 in 2022 enables hardware solutions that support both cellular and satellite connectivity, it said. The forthcoming new radio non-terrestrial networks standard, expected to enter commercialization with Releases 18 and 19 by 2027, should drive IoT adoption in applications requiring real-time and high-speed data, it said. The number of satellite IoT connections in the world will reach 41 million units in 2030, up from 3.6 million in 2020, it added.

SpaceX's Starlink has upended the satellite communications industry, but one area where it's weak is customer service, satellite communications consultant Glenn Canales wrote last week. Competing with Starlink means outdoing the value-added resellers SpaceX works with by providing vertical expertise and a single, knowledgeable point of contact, he added. It's easy to look to multi-orbit networks as an advantage over Starlink's low earth orbit network, but seamlessly combining LEO with geostationary or medium earth orbit networks and cellular networks "takes actual skill and execution." But having reliable service could be a competitive differentiator to Starlink, which often faces service congestion, he said. Starlink's "broad appeal is its strength and its Achilles’ heel," since niche markets, like first responders and government agencies, want tailored offerings.

Comments are due Jan. 22 on the FCC's proposed criteria and mechanism for selecting a space launch frequency coordinator for the agency's space launch service, said a notice for Monday's Federal Register. It said it's also seeking comment on licensing and frequency coordination procedures and data requirements. The dockets are 24-687 and 13-115, respectively. The space launch spectrum allocation order that commissioners approved in 2023 (see 2309210055) requires that launch operators seeking to use the 2025–2110 MHz or 2200–2290 MHz band must complete a frequency coordination process with a third-party frequency coordinator. The agency is also proposing allocation of 2360-2395 MHz for launch activities (see 2412190044).

SpaceX told the FCC Friday it has the needed Australian authorizations to commence supplemental coverage from space service there with mobile service partner Telstra, according to a filing in docket 23-135. Previously, SpaceX said it's ready to launch SCS service in New Zealand (see 2412120021). The company's New Zealand mobile partner, One New Zealand, said last week it had commenced commercial service of its One NZ Satellite TXT service, allowing SCS texting as long as there's a clear line of sight to the sky. ONZ said the texting service will take longer to send and receive messages -- three to as much as 10 minutes. "As the service matures and more satellites are launched, we expect delivery times to improve," it added.

SpaceX is planning to conduct more than 180 launches of its Falcon 9 rocket in 2025, CEO Elon Musk posted this week on X. That's an increase from his estimate last month of 150+ launches.

The FCC is considering reallocating the 2360-2395 MHz band on a secondary basis for space launch operations, the agency said Thursday. Letting companies conduct launch activities without requesting special temporary authority for each launch "will provide certainty and predictability for commercial space launches," it said. The draft order circulated Tuesday, and the commission said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel was trying to get a vote on it before the Dec. 25 statutory deadline set in the Launch Communications Act, which was signed into law in September (see 2409270060). The 2360-2395 MHz swath would come atop the 2025-2110 MHz and 2200-2290 MHz allocations for space launch activities the commissioners approved this fall (see 2309210055).

SpaceX is asking for the FCC to authorize spectrum access that could support a variety of U.S. space program missions involving its Starship rocket, including lunar landings. In an FCC Space Bureau filing posted Thursday, SpaceX said the Starship missions will include a long-duration orbital flight test, a propellant transfer flight test in orbit, an uncrewed lunar landing test and refueling operations in orbit, and a pair of lunar landings that include refueling operations in Earth orbit. As part of its application, SpaceX asked for FCC OK to operate in some spectrum bands on a nonconforming basis, such as space-to-space communications in the Ku band between Starship and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system, and lunar surface communications in the 5.8 GHz band for close-range communications during extravehicular activities.

The new Space Age, driven increasingly by commercial actors rather than superpowers, needs more competition and competitors, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday. "Our economy doesn’t benefit from monopolies," Rosenworcel told the audience at the SIA's DOD commercial satcom workshop in Crystal City, Virginia. Since space is "a challenging industry to enter," more effort is needed to ease the path for additional investors, innovators and competitors, she said. After her address, Rosenworcel declined to elaborate on her competition comments, but in the past she has said SpaceX poses a monopolistic threat (see 2409110014). Rosenworcel's address was largely a victory lap as she recapped space-related actions the FCC has undertaken during her administration. She said the agency "made real progress" on space-related priorities she laid out early in her term: revising rules, promoting innovation and protecting space sustainability. She said the Space Bureau creation signaled to other nations that they need to collaborate with the U.S. on space. Staffing the bureau and adding engineers and policy experts allowed the agency to be quicker and more nimble as a regulator, said Rosenworcel, noting it processed 74% more applications in 2023 than 2022.