SpaceX, GE and Pilots Clashing Over Upper S-Band Use in Launches
SpaceX is pushing back on concerns from GE Healthcare Technologies and the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) regarding space launch use of the 2360-2395 MHz band. In a docket 13-115 opposition Tuesday to reconsideration petitions, SpaceX said launch operators need "robust and rapid access" to that upper S-band spectrum. There can be efficient coordination with wireless medical device facilities without reconsideration of the FCC's upper S-band rules, it said, and AFTRCC is proposing "unnecessary restrictions and complexity" on launch operations. The FCC in late December reallocated the 2360-2395 MHz band on a secondary basis for space launch operations (see 2412310029).
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GE pointed to the necessity of protecting incumbent medical body area network (MBAN) operations in its April recon petition. It requested there be a per-launch coordination requirement when the launch is to take place within 200 miles of a registered MBAN facility. It also asked for a pause on any further special temporary authority for space launch operations in the 2360–2395 MHz band until a coexistence framework is in place.
AFTRCC warned in its April recon petition of "undue constraints" on flight test operators, the primary users of the shared allocation in the band. It urged the FCC to make clear that per-launch coordination in the band is required. Reconsideration might be needed if the December order leaves open the possibility of expanding the scope of space operations in the band, it added.