Eutelsat expects to put its Eutelsat 113 West B satellite into geostationary orbit in 2027, it told the FCC Space Bureau in a petition posted Wednesday seeking U.S. market access in the Ku, Ka, Q and V bands. The French- and Mexican-flagged satellite will provide fixed service and mobility applications in the Americas, Eutelsat said. The company said that while it has U.S. market access for the Eutelsat 113 West A satellite in the same orbital location, that market access grant is being surrendered.

In launching its Space Bureau last year, the FCC "worked hard to invite new entrants" into space, and that approach has seen some success, agency Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in prepared remarks during a Satellite Industry Association event Monday night. An example of that success was Intuitive Machines' lunar lander mission last month, with it being a first-time licensee receiving the FCC's first-ever lunar license, she said. Rosenworcel said the commission "will do everything in its power to make sure the United States continues to set the pace in space -- both for our economy and our national security." Also at the SIA event, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the satellite industry "has a critical role to play" in closing the globe's digital divides and said the ITU "is here to support you as you take up this challenge." According to provided remarks, she said sustaining "the shared space environment — particularly the radio-frequency spectrum — has to be a top priority as we continue to push the limits of space innovation." In addition, she said the ITU is encouraging the satellite community to voluntarily share de-orbiting strategies and plans "to build awareness for safe physical coexistence in orbit."

Firefly Aerospace is aiming for a Sept. 19 launch of its Elytra-1 satellite, it told the FCC Space Bureau in an application posted Monday. The low earth orbit satellite will serve as a technology demonstration platform for as long as a year, transporting and deploying multiple customer payloads, it added. Firefly said the Elytra product line is targeting on-orbit mobility, logistics and hosted payload services.

The FCC approved an NPRM seeking comment on regulatory fees changes for space and earth stations due to the agency reorganization that replaced the International Bureau with the Space Bureau and the Office of International Affairs. The FCC “anticipated that the changes in the industry that resulted in the creation of the Space Bureau would likely also result in changes in the relative FTE [full-time equivalents] burdens between and among space and earth station fee payors,” the NPRM said. The item, released Wednesday, seeks comment on proposed changes to the allocation of fee burdens between geostationary orbit and non-geostationary orbit space stations, the creation of additional fee categories within the NGSO category, and on keeping the fee for small satellites at the same level as FY2023 going forward, with annual adjustments to reflect the percentage change in appropriation from the previous year. It also seeks comment on proposals assessing fees on all authorized space stations rather than just operational ones, increases to the fee for earth stations, and on an alternate method for assessing space regulatory fees. The alternative methodology “is a more comprehensive departure from the way that space station regulatory fees have been assessed since 1994” and would eliminate separate categories of regulatory fees for GSO and NGSO space stations, the NPRM said. Comments on the NPRM are due April 12, replies April 29.

The FCC should dismiss SpaceX’s “procedurally deficient” petition seeking greater access to the 2 GHz spectrum band (see 2402230027), EchoStar said in an opposition filing posted Wednesday. SpaceX’s petition calls for a rulemaking proceeding on whether sharing the 2 Ghz band is possible while going from the premise that it can’t share the band with EchoStar’s existing mobile satellite service and 5G mobile advanced wireless service, EchoStar said. The FCC “should not begin such a futile and self-defeating rulemaking proceeding and should dismiss immediately the petition without placing it out for public comment,” it said. Entities that seek to operate in a portion of the spectrum others use for existing services must show they can share the band without harmful interference into the existing service, the filing said. SpaceX “fails to even try to make such a showing, and “effectively admits the only way to deal with harmful interference from its 2 GHz entry would be for EchoStar to accept that interference,” EchoStar said. Even starting a rulemaking on the SpaceX petition would “imperil” innovation in the 2Ghz band, the filing said. The FCC “should consider the chilling message that commencing such a proceeding would send to licensees: the signal that such consequences are thinkable.” SpaceX didn't comment.

The FCC Space Bureau granted non-geostationary orbit applications from Space X and Kuiper, with limitations, said a pair of orders in Monday’s Daily Digest. The SpaceX order authorizes the company to conduct communications in the E-band only with the 7,500 Gen 2 Starlink satellites that the FCC already authorized. “This Order does not authorize SpaceX to construct, deploy, or operate any additional satellites beyond those authorized to date.” The order defers consideration of SpaceX proposals on emergency beacons and use of additional satellites. Meanwhile, the Kuiper order grants the company’s request for modifying its NGSO license to use frequencies allocated to the fixed-satellite service (FSS) and mobile-satellite service (MSS) in the Ka-band. The license modification will reduce the number of satellites in its constellation from 3,236 to 3,232 and authorize radiofrequency communications for launch and early-orbit phase (LEOP) operations, payload testing, and deorbit operations. The Kuiper order also rejects a SpaceX petition to deny Kuiper’s application. Granting the applications will serve the public interest by improving broadband service, the orders said.

Satellogic is eyeing an October launch for the first 16 satellites of a planned earth exploration service that will image the planet using multi-spectral and hyper-spectral optical sensors. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Friday, Satellogic asked for authorization to operate what ultimately would be a 120-satellite X-band constellation.

Iridium hopes it will close within weeks on its acquisition of Satellites Inc. and its satellite-based time and location augmentation services, Iridium said Monday. Iridium will focus on allowing easier adoption of satellite time and location services and their integration with autonomous systems, consumer devices and vehicles, according to the news release. The company has a 20% stake in Satellites now and is buying the remaining 80% for $115 million. The precision navigation and timing market "is growing; it's a perfect application of our network, and this solution solves a problem for critical industries better than anything else," Iridium CEO Matt Desch said.

Australia's Fleet Space is seeking to amend its pending U.S. market access petition (see 2208080019), reducing satellites and changing the focus of the constellation's mission. In an FCC Space Bureau application last week, Fleet Space said the constellation would focus on subsurface earth monitoring instead of industrial IoT connectivity, and that it would be comprised of three satellites instead of four. The company said it anticipated launching in October on a SpaceX mission.

The FCC should conduct a separate proceeding about aggregate out-of-band interference limits in supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service, SpaceX said. In a docket 23-65 filing Thursday recapping meetings with Space and Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff, SpaceX said that approach would allow consideration via a more robust record and technical data than would tackling it in the SCS draft order on the agency's March agenda. The FCC "has an incomplete picture of supplemental coverage operations from multiple operators on which to base a general rule," SpaceX said, adding the proposed threshold is far too strict. It said if the agency doesn't defer consideration, it should revise the proposed limit.