The Federal Communications Commission has provided additional spectrum bandwidths for commercial space communications under the provisions of the Launch Communications Act, or LCA, passed on Sept. 26.
The bandwidths include the 2360–2395 megahertz spectrum that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recommended in December for reallocation to space launch communications and reentry operations, according to the commission’s third LCA report and order released Tuesday. That bandwidth’s main use currently is testing communications for aircraft and missile testing communications.
The FCC had earlier allocated the 2025–2110 MHz and 2200–2290 MHz bands in September for non-federal space operations and adopted them in its space launch licensing guidelines. FCC limits the first band’s use to uplinks to vehicles, with vehicle downlinks limited for the second band.
Space Industry Growth Goal
The commission’s recent 2360–2395 MHz reallocation permits both uplinks and downlinks for commercial space operators. Rosenworcel advocated for the bandwidth’s reallocation to stimulate growth in commercial space launches.
In November, the FCC also revised its satellite spectrum-sharing rules to promote market entry, regulatory certainty and spectrum efficiency. The commission’s revisions covered spectrum-sharing between non-geostationary satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service systems licensed in different processing rounds to provide new entrants an established, cooperative structure opening for their participation in the space industry.