With consummation of SiriusXM's buy of AT&T's wireless communications service C and D block licenses pending, SiriusXM wants to modify the license of its XM-5 satellite to operate in 2315-2320 MHz -- the C block -- and 2345-2350 MHz -- the D block -- adjacent to the SDARS band. In an FCC International Bureau application Friday, it said XM-5 would use those frequencies to provide one-way point-to-multipoint service to homeland security and public safety organizations, and would be wholly separate from its satellite radio service. It said AT&T consented to XM-5 operating in that spectrum.

Ligado and Saankhya Labs will partner on developing mobile broadcast tech for operation on Ligado's satellite network, the satellite operator said Friday.

Commercial remote sensing company Umbra Lab wants FCC OK to launch and operate a constellation of six earth exploration satellite service microsatellites in non-geostationary orbit, said an International Bureau application Wednesday. The company said there's federal and commercial interest in its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. It said it has FCC authorization for launch of Umbra-2001 as a demonstration for the SAR constellation, asking for that satellite to be in any new grant. It said Umbra-2001 and Umbra-02 are planned to launch this year, the remaining satellites in 2022.

Intelsat representatives and FCC Wireless Bureau staff talked about effects of possible delays stemming from review of C-band auction winners' long-form applications and the need for the clearinghouse to finish its procedures handbook and begin processing reimbursement payments, said in a docket 18-122 post Thursday. With satellite operators pre-funding the clearing and spending heavily on transition-related expenses, "focus should be given to accelerate and ensure prompt reimbursement for these outlays," Intelsat said.

While FAA has progressed in improving its Office of Commercial Space Transportation workforce planning, and addressed weaknesses in its methodologies for evaluating third-party losses from launch and reentry mishaps, the agency should put continued attention on other past GAO recommendations, the auditor reported Wednesday. It said with FAA having updated and streamlined launch and reentry licensing rules, its next planned rulemaking has to do with revising financial responsibility regulations. Once done with that, FAA plans to respond to recommendations about improving third-party loss calculation methodologies, GAO said. Asked for comment, the FAA pointed us to testimony Wednesday by FAA Associate Administrator-Commercial Space Transportation Wayne Monteith. Aside from revising rules regarding orbital debris mitigation for launch and reentry operations, the agency anticipates a comprehensive analysis of financial responsibility rules, Monteith told the House Commercial Space Regulation Subcommittee.

Viasat's request that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stay the FCC's OK of SpaceX's license modification pending judicial review (see 2105240005) saw both an ally and opposition in docket 21-1123 (in Pacer) responses Monday. The FCC put too high an evidentiary burden on the Balance Group and Viasat in their written objections to the proposed license modification, and the appellate court is likely to reverse the agency not finding that SpaceX's application may have a big environmental impact, Balance said in support of the Viasat stay. The FCC said it "closely examined and reasonably rejected Viasat’s claims," and Viasat hasn't made a case for "the extraordinary remedy of a stay pending appeal." The agency said it considered the allegations of environmental impact and didn't find sufficient evidence that the license mod needs further environmental review. The license mod fell into a categorical exclusion under FCC National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules, it said. SpaceX, also opposing the stay, said the stay motion is a "transparent bid to co-opt [NEPA] and the procedure for extraordinary stay relief as weapons of commercial warfare." It said the D.C. Circuit isn't likely to overturn FCC "methodical, issue-by-issue treatment of Viasat’s unprecedented and thinly-supported NEPA arguments" while Viasat hasn't shown "anything approaching irreparable harm" if not granted a stay.

SpaceX arguments against Hughes' petition for reconsideration of a SpaceX license modification granted in April (see 2106080014) give no reason to uphold on reconsideration the FCC failing to impose license conditions that would limit SpaceX using its ITU filings to get around equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits that protect geostationary orbit operators, Hughes said in an International Bureau reply Monday. Hughes also challenged SpaceX arguments that Hughes lacks standing, saying it's a party to the proceeding by virtue of its numerous filings seeking FCC relief including urging license conditions related to EPFD limits. SpaceX didn't comment Tuesday.

G7 nations including the U.S. "welcome" U.N. guidelines for long-term sustainability of outer space activities and urged other nations to implement them, the U.K. Space Agency said Sunday. Delegates at the G7 Leaders' Summit said they "welcome all efforts ... in debris removal and on-orbit servicing activities [and] recognise the importance of developing common standards, best practices and guidelines related to sustainable space operations alongside the need for a collaborative approach for space traffic management and co-ordination." They called "on all nations to work together, through groups like the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the International Organization for Standardization and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, to preserve the space environment."

China's acknowledging importance of space safety is good, and preserving the space commons requires international agreements on regulations and procedures, blogged Larry Press, a professor of information systems at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Saturday, he recapped a notice from China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense laying out smallsat regulations, including that satellites below 2,000 km deorbit within 25 years of the end of mission and those over 2,000 km rise to a graveyard orbit.

Instead of letting Eutelsat handle relocation of its earth stations as part of the C-band clearing, PSSI will assume the responsibility itself, they companies said Friday in FCC docket 18-122. PSSI said Eutelsat won't bear any liability for potential harmful interference to PSSI operations after Dec. 5 if the earth station modifications aren't done by then. They asked the FCC to direct the C-band relocation coordinator to withdraw the assignment of the eligible earth stations from the relocation obligation of Eutelsat. The new agreement "fully settles any dispute ... with respect to the compression, modulation, and spectrum analysis equipment that PSSI has claimed is necessary for the transition," they said.