Commercial Space Launch Vehicle Spectrum Rules Generally Working, Boeing Says

The FCC's spectrum rules for communications with commercial space launch vehicles "need only minor improvement and not wholesale replacement," Boeing officials told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) staff, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-115. Boeing said it expects to do RF testing this summer and fall -- under an FCC experimental license -- of its reusable Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 vehicle, with the first launch expected in 2017. It said federal-only launch spectrum at 429-430 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz and 5650-5925 MHz needs to remain under federal control because of public safety risks, and co-primary allocation for nonfederal launches "could result in unnecessary confusion over the control of the launch spectrum." On the timing concerns nonfederal users of federal-only launch spectrum face when trying to schedule launch operations, Boeing said issuing experimental authority for longer approval periods could cut that delay risk. It also recommended issuing experimental authority for multiple launches at a single location within a two- to five-year span as a means of tackling the problem of nonfederal users being able to complete only a single launch under six-month special temporary authority grants. And Boeing said it saw no reasons for the FCC to adopt formal rules for nonfederal launch operations since the commercial launch industry already is covered by FAA licensing and regulatory requirements and those have "functioned successfully to ensure the reliability and safety of this growing industry." Those at the meeting included OET Chief Engineer Julius Knapp and Audrey Allison, Boeing senior director-frequency management services.