U.S. Satellite Group: Simplify Regulatory Procedure, Create Regime for Smallsats

摘要

The U.S. Satellite Industry Association (SIA) on Feb. 2 said it had asked U.S. regulators to include nongeostationary-orbit satellite systems in a proposed streamlining of regulatory documentation accompanying requests for spectrum and orbital slots. The organization also proposed that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acknowledge the different nature of cubesats and other very small spacecraft by creating a separate regulatory regime "to address the myriad regulatory issues that these satellites pose." Very small satellites are capable of performing tasks that only a few years ago were limited to much larger satellites. International regulators have expressed concerns that some of these small-satellite constellations are not registering their broadcast frequencies, creating potential signal interference issues and are not following guidelines on end-of-life disposal of their hardware to reduce space debris.