NGSO Constellations Will Need 'Station Keeping' Measures, Boeing Says

With Boeing and OneWeb planning non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite constellations at roughly 1,200 km nominal altitudes, both can coexist with slight adjustments upward or downward, Boeing officials told FCC International Bureau staff, in an ex parte filing Friday in the proceeding. That would require both Boeing and OneWeb take part in "station keeping" measures to control the mean parameters of their respective orbits, and that issue should be explored more fully in an anticipated NPRM on sharing between NGSO fixed satellite service systems, Boeing said. FCC staffers at the meeting included Satellite Division Chief Jose Albuquerque, and the Boeing group included Director-Frequency Management Audrey Allison.