Amazon's Kuiper got FCC International Bureau sign-off on its updated orbital debris plan. In an order Wednesday, the bureau said the assent means Kuiper can begin deployment. The constellation's 2020 OK (see 2007310057) was conditioned on approval of the plan. The bureau put a series of conditions on the approval, including semi-annual reporting concerning the number of satellites launched and disposal reliability. SpaceX wanted the agency to use an "object-years" method for measuring post-mission disposal, as was required for SpaceX's second-generation constellation approval. The agency declined, saying since Kuiper hasn't begun deployment, that condition isn't yet necessary. The agency left the door open to imposing the condition later, after Kuiper starts deployment. The bureau imposed the same reporting requirement for collision avoidance system outages that it put on the second-gen Starlinks. Similar to the Starlink second-generation authorization, the bureau also conditioned the Kuiper approval on Amazon continuing to coordinate with NASA and the National Science Foundation to minimize impacts to NASA's science missions and to optical ground-based astronomy.

The FCC should make clear that satellite use of the 1.6/2.4 GHz mobile satellite service (MSS) bands for radiocommunication with mobile phones is subject to the MSS rules, or it should start a rulemaking proceeding with the aim of making that clarification, National Radio Astronomy Observatory petitioned Wednesday. Citing direct-to-handset service available now from Globalstar and forthcoming from Iridium in the 1610-1626.5 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz bands, NRAO said mobile phones are operating like unlicensed MSS mobile earth stations and the number of mobile devices capable of using the 1.6/2.4 GHz bands "is poised to increase by factors of 100 or more." If those phones don't obey the 1.6/2.4 MSS rules when communicating with satellites, the radio astronomy protections "will be mooted," it said.

SpaceX withdrew its mobile satellite service applications to operate in the S and PCS G blocks and the 2 GHz band, per an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday.

C-band second-phase accelerated clearing certification procedures aren't considered imminent from the FCC Wireless Bureau, we were told. In a docket 18-122 filing Tuesday, Eutelsat recapped a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at which the company again asked the agency to release a framework for certifying completion of the C-band accelerated relocation process' second phase (see 2301130020). A person involved in the commission's C-band proceeding said the clearing is labor intensive, involving thousands of filter installations at earth stations, so the agency likely wants to align issuing the accelerated clearing certification framework with the bulk of that process. Otherwise there could be problems of certifications being done too soon, creating administrative problems if earth stations turn up that are the responsibility of the satellite operator that has already filed its certification, he said. The second-phase clearing deadline is Dec. 5. In its ex parte meeting, Eutelsat representatives said delaying the certification procedures creates problems by compressing the certification process and also is contrary to the C-band order's requiring satellite operators to certify relocation completion when the work is done, regardless of the status of other satellite operators. The FCC declined comment.

Of the 2,303 small satellites launched in 2022, communications accounted for 80% of them, with remote sensing making up another 10%, BryceTech said Tuesday. Smallsats were 95% of all the satellites launched, about the same percentage as 2021, it said. The 2022 smallsats totaled 33% of all smallsats launched in the past decade, it said. Of that 2,303, SpaceX's Starlink and OneWeb accounted for more than 1,700, it said. Bryce said governments are increasingly interested in smallsats as a way to augment their existing capabilities, and 2023 will likely have the first deployments of smallsats for U.S. national security.

The 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference will consider opening up the 17 GHz band to non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service downlinks, but the FCC doesn't have clear support among satellite operators about whether it should do so sooner, based on docket 22-273 replies Wednesday. Comments in December on an NGSO FSS downlink allocation in the 17.3-17.8 GHz band were also mixed (see 2212280016). No one has shown why the FCC would need to act before WRC-23 since the ITU is currently evaluating the feasibility of NGSO FSS use of the 17.3-17.7 GHz band segment in ITU Region 2, Viasat said. Also lacking are technical studies and quantitative and qualitative analyses of interference from and compatibility of NGSO operations in the band segment, it said. Hughes and DirecTV said the record shows support for an NGSO FSS allocation in the 17 GHz band, but on a secondary or unprotected basis, and after international adoption of the new allocation WRC-23. Primary access for NGSOs could preclude GSO networks altogether from the band since they have less flexibility in avoiding being the cause or recipient of harmful interference, they said. Amazon's Kuiper said the FCC needn't wait for adoption of a new primary allocation in Region 2 at WRC-23 because the agency "has often led the world [with spectrum allocations] ahead of international deliberations." It said its proposed technical rules to support sharing are backed "by concrete technical analysis." All the reasons the FCC gave for allowing GSO FSS operations in the band apply just as much for NGSO FSS operations there, SpaceX said: There's no reason to wait until after WRC-23, since all the relevant studies are done. Noting technical studies done in preparation for WRC-23, SES/O3b, Telesat and OneWeb said it's clear NGSO FSS services would be compatible with incumbent services in the band. It said the record supports the idea that NGSO FSS operations can share the 17 GHz band with geostationary broadcasting satellite service downlinks, direct broadcast satellite feeder links and with GSO FSS downlinks on a co-primary basis by extending the provisions applicable to NGSO systems in adjacent bands. AT&T and Verizon said Tuesday that advocates of opening the band to NGSO downlinks haven't shown there won't be harmful interference with incumbents. They said using ITU power flux density limits for adjacent-band FSS operations isn't enough because those PFD limits are outdated, based on fewer and much smaller NGSO constellations than are currently and soon-to-be authorized, and don't consider the potential for aggregate interference. In an International Bureau filing this week, Mangata urged FCC approval of its pending U.S. market access petition and related waivers, saying its planned use of the 17.7-17.8 GHz downlinks could be conditioned on the outcome of the pending 17 GHz NGSO rulemaking.

SpaceX wants a hearing on Viasat's operations under the blanket Ka-band earth station grant it received in 2017 and for the conditional grant to be rescinded. Viasat can't seek partial reconsideration of the grant to challenge a condition while also operating under the license, SpaceX said Tuesday in docket 22-153. It said since 2017 Viasat has operated in the non-geostationary orbit Ka bands without complying with the license condition that it get coordination agreements from each NGSO fixed satellite service operator in the band, even while it has sought reconsideration to challenge that condition. Viasat didn't comment.

The Canadian government will spend the next three years developing regulatory requirements, safety standards and licensing conditions aimed at fostering a commercial space launch industry there. Transport Canada said Friday the transport minister will set up an interdepartmental launch review process to use expertise from other departments and agencies. "Developing a commercial space launch regime for Canada will help make our space sector more competitive and will allow Canadian industry a greater market share of the global space economy," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.

The FCC approved special temporary authority to allow a SpaceX demonstration launch of its Starship heavy rocket test vehicle, per an approval last week. SpaceX said the launch site would be Boca Chica, Texas, with the launch to happen by July 20.

The Papua New Guinea letter on Intelsat satellites seemingly operating under an ITU filing by the nation doesn't resolve the disagreement, Spectrum Five told the FCC in docket 20-399 Friday. The Netherlands and Papua New Guinea still disagree about the validity of the latter's ITU filing, it said. The Netherlands contends Intelsat satellite operators haven't satisfied ITU coordination requirements and are interfering with satellites in the Netherlands’ BSSNET4-95W satellite network, it said. Papua New Guinea's stance is "one position in an ongoing series of disagreements between [it] and the Netherlands about the validity of the filings Intelsat wants the Commission to recognize," Spectrum Five said. Intelsat didn't comment. Spectrum Five is seeking revocation of the Intelsat 30 and 31 satellite licenses (see 2012010057).