FCC EVALUATES NEW RULES TO LIMIT SPACE DEBRIS

Iridium stirred interest in orbital debris when it entered bankruptcy and gateway operator Motorola threatened to de-orbit 66-Little Leo constellation, industry attorneys suggested. Several older Iridium satellites are at end of life and burning out, and at least one crashed harmlessly into Atlantic Ocean. Spector, echoing sentiments of many satellite experts, said FCC should “weigh costs against benefits” and said regulation was “bad thing” for industry. Reply comment period on rulemaking (IB 02-54) ended Fri.

Orbital debris has become problem with increase in space activity, Commission said, and there has been steady growth in number of artificial objects in orbit around Earth. FCC said studies showed continued growth in orbital debris could raise concerns in future by increasing costs and lowering reliability of space-based systems. With space collisions major concern, agency also is seeking information on whether to require licensees to obtain insurance to address debris mitigation or related issues. It added that immediate risk presented by orbital mitigation was minimal.

Changes would be limited to spacecraft, not launch vehicles. Until now, FCC has addressed issues involving orbital debris on case-by-case basis and didn’t require submission of information on plans for orbital debris mitigation. However, in adopting rules for mobile satellite service (MSS) at 2 GHz, Commission required systems to detail design and operational strategies that would be used in such cases. It also required operators to submit casualty risk assessment if planned post-mission disposal involved atmospheric reentry of spacecraft.

Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) doesn’t believe space debris is problem, filing said, and requiring insurance or end-of-life guidelines aren’t necessary. It’s not clear whether Commission could formulate useful debris mitigation rules because of technical nature of satellite design and trade-offs necessary to meet mission requirements, SIA said. Any new rules should be limited to non-U.S. satellites. FCC should avoid taking any action that would increase costs for satellite operators, SIA said.

SES agreed orbital debris hadn’t been problem, but said action was needed to preserve access to space for long term. It said it had adopted debris mitigation measures in design, construction and operation of satellites. SES also coordinates closely with other satellite operators during any satellite drift maneuvers, providing operators of neighboring birds with advance notice of path of drift. Spector said proposal to involve FCC in satellite design was “a very bad idea.” He agreed with SIA and 2 other satellite attorneys who argued that any restriction that would drive up cost of insurance would negatively affect U.S. satellite market, which is struggling to maintain market share in global economy.

FCC should defer imposing any additional requirements until impact of requirement can be assessed, space insurer AON said. By imposing mandatory insurance requirements far in advance of end of life of satellites, it said, Commission would restrict future availability of capacity as funds were reserved for possible losses insured at time of licensing. There is some question whether de-orbiting efforts can be insured, AON said: Because there’s little experience with successful de-orbiting maneuvers, underwriters will impose substantial premiums, if coverage is provided at all. AON said FCC should follow lead of other federal agencies by allowing international insurance markets to sustain additional burdens of any requirement for de-orbiting insurance and to impose similar requirements on foreign competitors.

PanAmSat said it supported Commission objectives in NPRM, but believed regulation wasn’t necessary. If FCC chooses to regulate space debris, it said it should adopt standard based on Interagency Space Coordinating Committee (IADC) formula. IADC formula is more flexible than those presented in NPRM because it takes into account specific parameters of spacecraft, PanAmSat said. Company suggested geostationary licensees be permitted to use disposal orbit that was lesser of orbit produced by IADC formula and 300 km above GSO orbit. Final rules shouldn’t apply to any spacecraft currently in orbit, PanAmSat said.

FCC efforts are “worthwhile, necessary and urgent,” L'Garde Aerospace of Tustin, Cal., said, and new space machinery being developed by company will be helpful in controlling and eliminating debris from orbits. Arianespace said launch regulation was outside scope of FCC’s expertise, as well as outside its congressionally delegated authority. It said international treaties and national laws and regulations, including those of France, sufficiently regulated non-U.S. launched providers, alleviating need for FCC regulation. Dual regulation would put providers and U.S. customers at competitive disadvantage, Arianespace said.

FCC should establish incremental steps for direct retrieval, which would begin foundation for intranational salvage operations in future, National Remote Sensing & Space Law Center at U. of Miss. said. Procedures would include: (1) Requiring either license for specific salvage mission or space salvage operator’s license to ensure U.S. compliance with international legal obligations. (2) Requiring technological and financial assessment of operators seeking salvage license. (3) Designating how to determine when operator had actively or constructively abandoned satellite. (4) Designating how to determine when liability passed from owner/operator to salvor. (5) Supplying guidelines for determining whether satellite was appropriate candidate for salvage.