Spire Global wants to launch three non-geostationary orbit satellites, Hubble 1, 2 and 3, each carrying a payload for customer Hubble Network as part of Hubble's plans for a low-Earth orbit small satellite constellation serving Bluetooth devices. In an FCC Space Bureau application last week, it said the first two Hubbles are slated for February 2024 launch on SpaceX's Transporter-10 mission, with the third expected to launch in June 2024 on Transporter-11.

Kuiper's opposition to OneWeb's reconsideration petition on the FCC"s non-geostationary orbit spectrum sharing order doesn't address the order's unequal treatment of NGSO operators on the effective reduction in the sunset period for some, OneWeb told the FCC Monday in docket 21-456. Amazon's Kuiper, in its opposition earlier this month, said the OneWeb recon petition relies on arguments the FCC already considered and rejected or that OneWeb could have presented earlier in the proceeding but didn't. OneWeb in its reply said it did raise those concerns in the record, but the FCC order just focuses on issues about the general appropriateness of the sunset and Kuiper "stays in that lane too."

Rocket Lab's Tuesday Electron rocket mission failed, according to the company. The vehicle was carrying a synthetic aperture radar satellite for earth observation company Capella Space. Rocket Lab postponed its next scheduled launch. "We are deeply sorry to our partners Capella Space for the loss of the mission," Rocket Lab said. It said it's working with the FAA and other agencies to investigate the cause of the mission failure.

Elon Musk’s claim SpaceX’s fundamental mission is to get humanity to Mars isn’t just rhetoric, Musk biographer Walter Isaacson said Tuesday at an Economic Club of Washington event. “I think he truly believes that mission -- he’s mission driven,” Isaacson said. Once Musk has a mission, he backfills around it, such as using SpaceX to also make money via internet connectivity from low earth orbit, said Isaacson, professor of American History and Values at Tulane University, and formerly CNN chairman and Aspen Institute CEO. “That’s just a way to fund the mission,” he said. Asked about when SpaceX might go public, Isaacson said the SpaceX CEO “hates taking things public. I think he has zero desire to take SpaceX public.”

Oral argument is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 20 before a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel in the consolidated International Dark-Sky Association and Dish Network challenges to the FCC's partial approval of SpaceX's second-generation satellite constellation (see 2304170005), per a clerk's order Monday (dockets 22-1337, 23-1001).

SES urged tweaks to the FCC Space Bureau application streamlining draft order on the agency's September agenda. In a docket 22-411 filing Monday, it recapped a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at which SES suggested changes to language about granting points of communications under a streamlined procedure. It also said language in the accompanying Further NPRM asking about certain satellite operators changing antenna parameters without prior authorization would benefit from examples of what types of operators such a provision would imply.

As the FCC looks at duplicative coordination requirements in its space application processing Further NPRM on the September agenda, one opportunity is the requirement that satellite licensees using certain bands coordinate with federal users each earth station with which they plan to communicate, Microsoft representatives told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Space Bureau staffers, per a docket 22-411 filing Friday.

Astroscale is urging the FCC to initiate an in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing NPRM as a step toward creation of ISAM licensing and technical rules. In a docket 22-271 filing Friday, it recapped a meeting with Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney in which it also urged the agency to specify spectrum allocations that in-space servicing satellites could use for communications and to craft an "appropriately-limited" annual regulatory fee for in-space servicing satellites.

Intelsat and optical networking company Aalyria have signed a memorandum of understanding about partnering on optical uplinks and downlinks, the satellite operator said Tuesday. Intelsat Chief Technology Officer Bruno Fromont said the collaboration "will enable enhanced mobile broadband connections and represents another step forward towards our Next Generation Unifying Network vision enabled by software-defined networking, 5G and multi-orbit operations."

Adopting shot clocks for satellite and earth station applications would promote satellite competition and innovation while providing certainty to operators, SpaceX representatives told aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington, per a docket 22-411 filing Tuesday. Pointing to the space application processing draft order on circulation for September's meeting (see 2308310059), SpaceXers also urged the agency to seek comment on further changes to the unbuilt system rule and to improve the processes in the new Section 25.117(i) for adding a non-geostationary orbit satellite system as a point of communication to an earth station authorization.