AST SpaceMobile has demonstrated repeated supplemental coverage from space download speeds in excess of 10 Mbps in tests of its BlueWalker 3 satellite using unmodified smartphones, it said Wednesday. The testing used AT&T spectrum and Nokia radio access network technology, and reached initial speeds of up to 10.3 Mbps, it said. AST said the next major test activity will be about 5G cellular broadband delivery via satellite.

With updates to its proposed Kuiper second-generation V-band constellation application to be made in coming months, the FCC Space Bureau should delay seeking comment until after those amendments are made, Amazon told Bureau Chief Julie Kearney, per a docket 21-456 filing posted Wednesday.

Complaining that the FCC Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs refused to consider its evidence showing Viasat's repeated violations of its earth station licenses, SpaceX asked the FCC to rescind the bureaus' May order allowing Viasat to acquire Inmarsat's authorizations (see 2305220003) "for further consideration of Viasat’s character qualifications." In its docket 22-153 application Wednesday, SpaceX said Viasat "knowingly and willfully" violated its earth station license terms for nearly four years by operating in the non-geostationary orbit Ka bands without first getting coordination agreements from each NGSO fixed satellite service operator or getting relief from the FCC. The commission can't let the bureau order precedent stand because it could end up undermining established requirements for reviewing character qualifications in transfer of control proceedings, SpaceX said. Viasat didn't comment.

Non-geostationary orbit spectrum sharing rules the FCC adopted 4-0 in April (see 2304200039) are now in effect, per a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Space economy revenue hit $384 billion globally in 2022, the Satellite Industry Association said Tuesday in its annual state of the satellite industry report. It said the satellite industry had $281 billion revenue, including $145 billion in ground equipment revenue and $113.3 billion in satellite services revenue. Satellite revenue for the year was essentially flat from 2021, with growth in most segments offset by declines in video, SIA said. It said the 7,316 active satellites at the end of 2022 were up 321% from five years earlier, and more than 5,000 small satellites were deployed between 2020 and 2022. The 7,316 are operated by entities headquartered in 83 countries, it said. Of the 7,316, 63% are for commercial communications, it said. SIA said 2022 ended with 596 operational geostationary orbit satellites, up from 574 in 2021.

Sidus Space anticipates launching its first two LizzieSat earth exploration satellite service satellites, LS-1 and -2, in Q4 of this year, with the first two pairs of commercial LizzieSats -- LS-3, -4, -5 and -6 -- going up potentially in February and June 2024 on successive SpaceX Transporter rideshare missions, Sidus told the FCC Space Bureau Tuesday. In an application seeking authority to launch and operate the four commercial non-geostationary orbit LizzieSats, Sidus said the eventual goal is a 100-satellite LizzieSat constellation. It said LS-1 and -2 will be technology demonstrations.

The FCC is continuing to look at comments received last year on in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (see 2211010025) and to assess whether its rules need updating to help foster ISAM commercial activities, said Space Bureau Satellite Programs and Policy Division Chief Merissa Velez Wednesday at a Secure World Foundation space sustainability symposium. She said a focus for the new bureau will be transparency, particularly on ensuring new entrants get needed information about their regulatory obligations. Satellite maneuvering capabilities and the altitudes at which that should be required is an area needing regulatory certainty and industry best practices, said Kalpak Gude, Amazon's Kuiper domestic regulatory affairs head. Orbit Fab Managing Director Manny Shar said there's a need for more speed by regulatory agencies because every month's delay "is a month less runway for a startup."

Amazon asked the FCC to amend the agency's 2020 authorization of the Kuiper constellation to include authority for the company to do launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) and deorbit operations. In a Space Bureau application Tuesday, Amazon said starting communications payload testing at insertion altitude and concurrently with orbit raising maneuvers during LEOP would enable it to better assess the health of the satellites and their payloads.

Reusable satellite company Outpost Technologies, which received authorization in April for a cubesat test mission (see 2302100004), seeks FCC sign-off for another cubesat test flight of software, avionics, RF links and gas generators, it said in a Space Bureau application Monday.

The lack of an international mechanism for monitoring space debris and facilitating its removal is a big challenge, particularly for smaller nations just getting into space or with space aspirations, said U.N. Undersecretary-General-Policy Guy Ryder Tuesday at a Secure World Foundation space sustainability symposium. He said there's also the potential for tension and conflict about the lack of international norms and principles for debris removal and satellite refueling. He said consensus is needed on the use of space resources and on protecting landing sites, to ensure industry can fairly access resources. The next 15 months are a window of opportunity for more aggressive work on space norms and diplomacy, with upcoming meetings by the OECD Space Forum and U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in that time frame, capped by the U.N.'s sustainability focused Summit of the Future in September 2024, Ryder said. Venture capital funding in space has rocketed since 2018, with a peak in 2021, said Maureen Haverty, vice president at Seraphim Space venture capital fund. Driving that interest was the market disruption of new players, including SpaceX, the U.S. government increasingly buying services from commercial providers, and big reductions in the cost of accessing space, she said. Space now is seen as a market that can drive large enough returns to interest the VC community, she said. While 2022 and early 2023 were "very challenging" for space startups in search of funds, European investment has provided some rebound. European investing now eclipses U.S. investing for the first time, she said.