The Navy and Air Force don't want 1435-1525 MHz used for non-federal space launches. In an NTIA letter posted Wednesday in docket 13-115, relaying those branches' input, the Air Force also urged against allowing space-to-space operations in 18.1–18.6 GHz and 18.8–20.2 GHz bands. The Air Force said 2025-2110 MHz is already shared with non-federal users and used by DOD for satellite uplinks and cross-links, and allowing nonemergency, nonfederal communications in the band poses a risk to those incumbent uses. The Navy and Air Force said allocating 1435-1525 MHz for nonfederal space launches "would create an untenable situation" for DOD ranges' use of the band.

Preparing for the next generation of human activity on the moon will require new spectrum propagation models to avoid conflicting communications spectrum uses there, NTIA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Sarah Morris said Wednesday during an agency panel discussion on lunar spectrum. William Kozma, supervisor of the propagation modeling group at NTIA's institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), said the lack of atmosphere, as well as the moon's unique mineral composition and its irregular surface, mean the traditional modeling approach doesn't apply. The moon's distance is a big challenge to getting data for the creation of propagation models, speakers said. Michael Zemba, lunar communications engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center, said Intuitive Machines' lunar lander mission early this year provided data that the company and agency are analyzing. He said a second Intuitive Machines mission will have a 4G LTE system on a lunar rover to help collect more. Rather than coalescing around one propagation model for the moon, it might make more sense to have a family of models, with different ones employed in different situations, said Chris Anderson, NTIA ITS theory division chief.

Gogo's Galileo satellite connectivity service and its 5G air-to-ground connectivity service are on the verge of hitting the market, CEO Oakleigh Thorne told analysts Tuesday as it announced Q3 results. He said recent FAA certification means Gogo could potentially ship its HDX low earth orbit satellite terminal commercially to customers by year's end, targeting smaller and mid-size aircraft. It said the 5G chip for receivers should ship in Q2 2025. The HDX and faster FDX "are critical" to Gogo competing with SpaceX, William Blair's Louie DiPalma noted Tuesday. Galileo service "is critical to preserving the competitive positioning and capturing a portion of the untapped 14,000 business jets registered outside the U.S. that do not have broadband connectivity," DiPalma said. Thorne said Gogo expects it will close on Satcom Direct (see 2409300065) by year's end. Gogo is collaborating with OneWeb on satellite connectivity.

SpaceX wants to add Swarm VHF-band mobile satellite service payloads onto its first-generation Starlink satellites. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Tuesday, SpaceX said the payloads would let Starlinks offer services that Swarm's authorization permits. SpaceX said the payloads also would let the company track and maintain contact with first-gen Starlinks during rare space weather events and orbit raising. SpaceX said it is operating similar payloads on its second-gen Starlinks as safety beacons for more than 18 months without interference complaints from commercial or federal users.

The EPA, not the FCC, is the proper federal agency to coordinate or conduct space environmental protection, National Space Society space regulation and oversight policy lead Grant Henriksen blogged last week. Noting a call by space academic researchers for the FCC to conduct environmental reviews for large constellations of satellites, Henriksen said the commission lacks the expertise for address space activities' environmental impacts and should abstain from regulating non-communications-related undertakings. FCC steps toward environmental regulation would be open to legal attack in a post-Chevron world, creating greater regulatory uncertainty when the U.S. commercial space sector "already faces numerous challenges on that front." He said the EPA can address risks to the atmosphere from increased rocket launches and reentries.

California startup Logos Space Services is seeking FCC Space Bureau OK for a planned 3,960-satellite constellation aimed at providing connectivity to enterprise customers and in-space data relay among other satellite constellations. In an application posted Thursday, it said the non-geostationary orbit Logos Network would operate in the Ka, Q/V and E bands at altitudes between 860 and 925 km. The company said it plans a phased rollout, with the first phase of 1,092 satellites letting it commence service and then Logos increasing capacity and throughput as it continues deployment.

The FCC's argument that financier BIU's litigation is a fight between the company and satellite firm Spectrum Five to be dealt with in a state court (see 2410100007) doesn't fly, BIU said. In a docket 24-1189 petitioner's reply brief Wednesday, BIU said no state court can vacate the FCC Enforcement Bureau's dismissal of BIU's Spectrum Five petition and provide the relief BIU is seeking before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. BIU said cases the FCC cited about the agency abstaining from considering issues of contract law in favor of state court adjudication sprung from situations that could be addressed with a state court judgment for money or where there still could be meaningful relief at the FCC after state court resolution. BIU is appealing the FCC's dismissal of a petition seeking reinstatement of the Spectrum Five complaint alleging that Intelsat is interfering with Spectrum Five's spectrum license (see 2404110053).

SpaceX is five launches away from having a commercial direct-to-device constellation in orbit, company Senior Director-Satellite Engineering Ben Longmier posted Wednesday on X. After that, he said, further launches will improve coverage and latency for SpaceX's telecommunications partners around the world. His post followed SpaceX's latest launch Wednesday, with 20 more Starlinks -- including 13 with D2D capabilities -- put into orbit.

NASA is conducting a visiting vehicle study with SpaceX, looking at the potential impact of SpaceX's second-generation constellation on International Space Station operations. In a letter posted Tuesday in docket 23-135, NASA said one aim of the study is ensuring "an appropriate and informed number of satellites are allowed to operate" in orbital shells below the ISS. SpaceX is seeking authority to operate below the ISS (see 2406210006). NASA said it and SpaceX "will continue to collaborate closely to finalize operational guidelines and establish comprehensive safety protocols" involving vehicles traveling to and from the ISS. Given that cooperation, NASA said it supports the FCC letting SpaceX operate up to 400 satellites in the orbital shells below the ISS. It said after the visiting vehicle study is done, it would coordinate any change to that number.

Eutelsat/OneWeb continues urging conditions on an SES purchase of Intelsat. In docket 24-267 reply comments posted Monday, it reiterated its argument (see 2410010018) that New SES' control of C-band channels in the U.S., and the importance of that spectrum for content distribution, necessitates considering whether conditions are needed to address those competitive impacts. Eutelsat/OneWeb didn't state specific conditions. SES and Intelsat, in comments also posted Monday, said C-band marketplace concerns, such as those that NAB voiced (see 2410160018), are "unfounded" because of the "fierce competition" New SES would face from fiber, internet-based streaming and other technologies.