A reduction in the 25-year rule, more work toward active space debris removal solutions and a dedicated and autonomous subsystem for satellite decommissioning would help reduce orbital debris proliferation, space services company D-Orbit said in an FCC docket 18-313 posting Monday. Satellites at orbits above 600 kilometers should be required to have propulsion capabilities for station-keeping and collision avoidance maneuvers, plus autonomous systems like propulsive modules for de-orbiting, it said. It urged requiring phasing between satellites when a number are deployed in the same orbit. Ideas to incentivize practices that would minimize orbital debris include a tax for every launch or object in orbit for every year of operations, or a deposit to licensing authorities, returned after end-of-life operations.
The FTC approved with conditions Northrop Grumman buying Orbital ATK, the agency said Tuesday. Under the modified final order terms, Northrop must make its solid rocket motors and related services available on a nondiscriminatory basis to all competitors for missile contracts and must separate the SRM business from the rest of its operations. The settlement lets DOD appoint a compliance officer to oversee Northrup conduct related to the settlement. Commissioners OK'd the order 4-0-1, with new Commissioner Christine Wilson not participating. The deal, announced in September 2017, reflects defense contractor consolidation and isn't expected to affect the commercial space sector. (see 1709180041).
ViaSat plans to offer ViaSat Urban Wi-Fi, a satellite Wi-Fi service for cities across Mexico, starting with service this month in Mexico City, it said Monday. It said it will offer speeds up to 100 Mbps, using the company's ViaSat-2 constellation, and roll out to other cities throughout 2019.
Intelsat wants to temporarily move Intelsat 16's Ku-band beam to a new North American coverage area. In an FCC International Bureau posting Wednesday requesting special temporary authority, it said the move is for a customer test that should take three to six months.
Access to the 5091-5150 MHz band for real-time aeronautical mobile telemetry is a must for the aerospace industry, especially since AMT has lost spectrum elsewhere, aerospace representatives told FCC Wireless Bureau representatives and an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai, recounted an RM-11793 filing Wednesday. The Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council, whose membership includes numerous aerospace companies, said it's committed to working with aeronautical mobile airport communication system interests on coexistence measures for AMT and AeroMACS, which then will lead to service rules. The aerospace representatives said AeroMACS has priority under FCC policies, but that doesn't mean exclusivity, and determining if co-channel sharing is possible could take "significant time and testing." Also at the meeting were representatives of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Textron, the Aerospace Industries Association and Raytheon.
Smallsat manufacturing and launch services should generate $37 billion in cumulative revenue between now and 2027, with 6,500 smallsats expected to launch, Northern Sky Research said Wednesday. It said funding remains a big challenge for the smallsat market, with investors "more cautious about the durability of this architecture" and challenging business cases.
Multimedia content delivery company KenCast joined the Satellite Industry Association, SIA said Monday.
Launch capacity and delays could be a serious impediment to planned non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) mega constellations because they need to be deployed within a timely fashion to meet FCC milestone requirements, reported Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Space Policy and Strategy Monday. It estimated annual launch rates of 32 to 128, depending on what percentage of the envisioned 20,000 smallsats end up deployed. It said sustaining those constellations with replacement satellites would require another 26 to 102 launches annually, and the NGSO deployment launch capacity shortfall could be from two to 98 launches a year. It said delays could mean profitability is significantly reduced or never achieved. It said the U.S. could charter a working group for better launch demand situational awareness, and could consider providing assistance to NGSO constellations determined to be in the national interest. The company said the FCC and other regulators might want to meet regularly to develop rules allowing more flexibility.
Standard & Poor's downgrade of Eutelsat (see 1811210027) "is based on an industry analysis that we do not share for certain aspects," the company emailed. Eutelsat last week said that in recent years, it has "been pursuing a rigorous financial discipline with continued deleveraging, asset disposals and strong free-cash-flow growth. Importantly, we remain in the 'Investment Grade' category.”
Citing weaker earnings prospects across the satellite industry, S&P downgraded Eutelsat, Inmarsat and SES. It said industry competition will skyrocket as high-throughput satellites mean capacity growing faster than demand for some applications like mobility. It said Eutelsat faces uncertainty in its non-video business, particularly its broadband revenue growth. S&P said Inmarsat's mobility segment should face tougher competition from fixed satellite services, and extra capacity will drive down future prices. It also said Inmarsat is facing high equipment installation costs as it keeps investing in aviation and cabin connectivity and its interest in maritime could be hit by a price war with Iridium. It said SES' video business is facing increased competition, while parts of its data business could be pressured by the added capacity coming to the market. It said there's a risk for the satellite industry overall that broadcasters consolidate services on existing capacity via compression technology or internal initiatives. S&P said more competition from other video distribution networks such as fiber also is possible. Eutelsat, Inmarsat and SES didn't comment.