ViaSat Looks to Provide TT&C Services to Planet Labs Constellation

With the FCC having approved Planet Labs' low earth orbit constellation of up to 200 satellites, ViaSat is asking for approval to operate an S-band earth station to provide telemetry, tracking and control for them. In an International Bureau filing Monday, ViaSat said the uplink, employing a 5.4-meter dish, would be outside of Pendergrass, Georgia, the company's second choice of location, and an earlier application for an uplink in Duluth, Georgia, was withdrawn after it became clear that site, closer to Atlanta, would cause interference to Atlanta-area 2 GHz TV broadcast auxiliary service operations.