Streamlined Satellite Licensing Seen Having Mixed Record of Success
Nearly two years since it took effect, the FCC's streamlined licensing regime for small-scale satellite operations is getting mixed feedback from the satellite universe. Some regulatory lawyers say it's an improvement, but others see the process hurting from lack of enough staffing. The FCC didn't comment. Lynk urged the International Bureau earlier this month to approve its pending mobile service application constellation under the streamlined rules, noting it had been pending since May 2021 and it hoped for launches to commence in October (see 2206060002).
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Streamlined applications have gotten OKs in anywhere from a couple months to as many as eight. Loft Orbital's September 2020 application for its YAM-3 microsatellite received approval eight months later. R2 Space's May 2020 application for an eight-satellite microsatellite constellation received partial approval/partial deferral in December that year. Umbra Lab's June 2021 submission for a six-satellite earth exploration satellite service constellation received a series of approvals in December, February and March. Iceye received partial approval and partial deferral under the streamlined rules in April 2021, two months after its application for its six-satellite earth observation constellation.
An earth exploration satellite was approved May 11 for Capella Space, two months after the company's initial submission. That followed its September 2020 application for three earth exploration satellites granted in December that year, its January 2021 application for two earth exploration satellites granted in May, and its August 2021 application for two earth exploration satellites approved that December.
Pending at the bureau is Turion Space's May application for a satellite for orbital debris mapping. Intuitive Machines sought approval in April 2021 for its Nova-C/IM-1 Lunar Lander. In March, at the bureau’s request, it submitted additional information on such issues as the state of its frequency coordination efforts with NASA.
The process is largely working and the FCC has stuck to its position that a system with low intensive spectrum usage and a low-risk orbital debris profile and that's able to coordinate and share frequencies with other users will get expedited treatment, said Hogan Lovells satellite lawyer George John. He said if the International Bureau had more resources, it could likely move applications along even more quickly. He said approval often could have taken a year or more before the streamlining process. He said many streamlined applications also involve sharing spectrum with federal agencies, and an improved coordination process -- perhaps with timelines for agencies reviewing requests -- would also help make approvals easier.
Approvals often come in under three months, which was unheard of before the streamlining option, a lawyer with satellite clients said. He said any aim to speed up the process more will run into some roadblocks, like the time involved putting the application out for public comment and the coordination process through NTIA.
A satellite industry executive said there have been discussions with the agency about perceived areas needing process improvements, such as applications with multiple satellites being granted one satellite at a time instead of all at once, and additional staffing headed the bureau's way (see 2204070068) should help with backlog, but that can take a while.
The agency, when it adopted the streamlined process (see 1908010011), said it was aimed at individual satellites or small constellations, not massive constellations. It said the process was tailored toward satellites with short orbital lifetimes, posing a low risk of orbital debris and spectrum interference and weighing at most 180 kilograms. The rules became effective August 2020.
Astrobotic's application, filed in May 2021, was rejected on delegated authority earlier this month. The agency said the Peregrine Mission 1 to deliver government and commercial science payloads and instruments to the Moon didn't fit the criteria for the streamlined process since the mission will generate some orbital debris, even though that debris actually is being generated by Astrobotic customer NASA, the bureau said. It said Astrobotic could still apply under standard Part 25 rules. The company didn't comment.