Sunsetting non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service protection would create a "dangerous precedent" in other bands with long-standing interference protection, OneWeb said Wednesday in docket 21-456, recapping a meeting between company representatives and FCC International Bureau staff. Sunsetting two-degree spacing among geostationary FSS networks "would be unfathomable," and sunsetting NGSO FSS interference protection should be viewed the same way, it said. Instead, the agency should codify such mechanisms as good-faith coordination among NGSO operators, limiting use of default band splitting to systems in the same processing round requiring later-filed systems to protect earlier-authorized systems from interference, it said. The FCC said Wednesday that a draft order regarding NGSO FSS interference protection would be on its April agenda (see 2303290068).

Telesat had hoped to have financing for its Lightspeed low earth orbit constellation wrapped up by 2022’s end, but “we’re not there yet,” CEO Dan Goldberg told investors Wednesday as it announced the year’s annual results. Goldberg said he's optimistic financing will be secured and it’s in discussions with equity investors. He said Telesat is still investing in Lightspeed development independent of that financing issue. “There’s a huge market for a well-engineered, enterprise-grade, enterprise-focused LEO constellation,” he said. He said it already got $4 billion in financing committed. In its annual report, Telesat said it won't meet the milestone date set by the FCC for Lightspeed's U.S. market access granted in 2020, and it plans to seek an extension. Asked about future geostationary orbit satellite launches, Goldberg said Telesat would replace or launch a GEO “if we’re convinced we’ve got a strong business case for it." There are no GEO replacement plans for 2023, he said.

Intelsat expects to launch its Galaxy 37 C-band replacement satellite in July, it told the FCC International Bureau in an application Tuesday. Galaxy 37 is to replace Galaxy 13 and is the last of the C-band satellites Intelsat is launching as part of the C-band clearing, it said.

All the conditions imposed on the second-generation Starlink constellation should similarly be imposed on Amazon's Kuiper, SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau Monday. Kuiper seeks modification of its 2020 authorization so it's subject to the same condition on coordination and showing noninterference as SpaceX's second-gen satellites (see 2303270054). However, SpaceX said, "If Amazon feels that it is similarly situated and wants consistency of conditions with SpaceX, it cannot also be allowed to pick to accept some conditions while rejecting others."

All active C-band antennas in partial economic areas known to be pointed at Telesat satellites have been transitioned as part of the C-band clearing, Telesat said Tuesday in docket 18-122, but it's continuing transition of the unassociated antennas/feeds that the relocation coordinator assigned it.

Spire Global received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that it's not in compliance with the exchange's rule on minimum average closing price of its Class A common stock required over a consecutive 30 trading-day period, the satellite data company said Friday. Spire said the notice doesn't result in its immediate delisting from the NYSE. It said it intends to notify NYSE about its plan to regain compliance, and is looking at options including a reverse stock split. Spire stock closed Monday at 68 cents.

Sunday's launch of 36 satellites by NewSpace India from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, gives OneWeb more than enough satellites in orbit to have global coverage, the company said. The launch was OneWeb's 18th and gives it a constellation of 618. It said by year's end it will be ready to roll out global coverage, including increased connectivity in areas north of 50 degrees latitude, plus new areas online.

Citing delays stemming from launch company SpaceX, Viasat asked the FCC to move its launch and operation milestone date of April 30 for its ViaSat-3 satellite serving the U.S. to the end of May. In an International Bureau application filed Friday, Viasat said the launch had been planned for the last week of March, but it was delayed by SpaceX plans to launch it in early to mid-April. The delay is due to SpaceX putting some high-priority launches for the U.S. government before it, said Viasat, noting SpaceX also delayed the ViaSat-3 launch to obtain necessary flight hardware. Viasat said the satellite should now be in its proper orbital location in early May. SpaceX didn't comment Monday.

Noting the need to protect non-geostationary orbit operators from interference from later-round NGSO systems, O3b urged the FCC International Bureau to not alter Amazon's 2020 authorization and to clarify SpaceX's second-generation constellation authorization. Amazon Kuiper's requested modification, filed in February, asks that it be subject to the same condition as SpaceX's second-gen constellation and be allowed to start deployment before completing coordination and receiving approval from the FCC of its noninterference showing. O3b told the bureau Monday it must mandate that SpaceX or anyone else who might seek similar conditions as SpaceX's second-gen system make publicly available any assessment of its operations' potential to interfere with earlier-round systems. The FCC "cannot leave it up to the interfering party’s discretion whether to subject its analysis to robust and thorough review by potentially affected NGSO operators," it said.

Blue Origin's failed New Shepherd rocket launch on Sept. 12 was due to a failure of an engine nozzle, which then triggered the crew capsule escape system, the company said Friday. The mission was unmanned. It said the crew capsule and payloads on board landed safely and will be flown again. It said all systems designed for public safety "functioned as planned," and it's making changes to engine design and expects to resume flights soon.