On the docket (11/7/22)

Good morning. The bad news is that we had to set our clocks back by an hour yesterday. The good news, though, is that you’re reading Payload. Let’s make it a great week, early sunsets be darned.

In today's newsletter:📝 On-orbit industrial policy📡 An FCC Space Bureau?🗓️ The week ahead

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What’s On the Docket for Space Policy? The Industry POV

Trade groups are urging the White House to use a “light touch” to regulate new orbital sectors, ahead of companies making their own appeals later this month.

Mike French, VP for space systems at the Aerospace Industries Association, said AIA is working with members to help shape the process by which industry receives authorization for new space activities. Examples include satellite servicing and debris removal, which will be the subject of two National Space Council listening sessions with industry in November.

“Our fairly longstanding position has been that we’d like to see a federal department be given this authority, but have a fairly light touch process that’s behind it. That’s sort of where we start from,” French said. “We’re working with our members to focus a bit more on, can we help the White House process by bringing some definition to what that ideal process is?”

The how, not the where

Which agency owns the process matters less than what the process looks like, French said, adding that the goal is to avoid creating unnecessary layers of burdensome red tape.

“We’re trying to focus not on where is the front door, but what is the actual process? Wherever it sits, what I think will be more important is that we don’t create a new regulatory bureaucracy around this question,” French said.

What are others doing?

The Satellite Industry Association is pushing for the White House to update the almost-20-year-old Commercial Remote Sensing Policy to better encompass new remote sensing technologies not addressed in existing policy, like radio frequency and infrared. The group is also calling for an update to National Security Policy Directive 27, which governs commercial remote sensing regulations, to stress the importance of a strong commercial space industrial base.

What’s next: The National Space Council is holding two listening sessions on Nov. 14 and 21. AIA will provide written comments to the White House by Dec. 1, French said.

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The FCC Shuffles

The Federal Communications Commission is building a new home for space activities. Last week, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel revealed a new plan to split the International Bureau into two distinct offices: the Office of International Affairs and the Space Bureau.

The thought process: “A new Space Bureau at the FCC will ensure that the agency's resources are appropriately aligned to fulfill its statutory obligations, improve its coordination across the federal government, and support the 21st century satellite industry," Rosenworcel said.

Until now...The International Bureau has been responsible for licensing any satellite, American or not, that transmits data within the nation’s borders. But as the space industry has grown, the office has become overwhelmed by new licensing applications—64,000 in the past two years, the chairwoman said.

The FCC has also fallen into the role of creating debris mitigation policy—a power that has been disputed. Recently, the FCC revised its 25-year deorbiting guideline to instead require operators to deorbit defunct satellites within 5 years post-mission. This drew mixed reactions from Congress. Many members, including leaders from the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, criticized the FCC for creating policy that lay outside its mandate.

With a Space Bureau, the FCC would double down on new debris mitigation responsibilities and allocate more resources to satellite application processing. Rosenworcel emphasized in comments last week that the formation of a Space Bureau wouldn’t entail new authorities in space for the FCC. Rather, the bureau would help the FCC better allocate resources where they’re needed most.

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Join Us This Wednesday in LA

LA readers, its time for another space industry happy hour. We are partnering with Bank of America, Deloitte, and Epsilon3 to bring you another great networking event.

Join us this Wednesday November 9th for some food, drinks, and—best of all—space conversations.

In Other News

• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) successfully launched a Swedish satellite on Friday but failed to perform a mid-air recovery. Booster telemetry cut out during reentry, forcing the recovery helo to stand down.

• Maxar ($MAXR) acquired AI and software developer Wovenware. The Puerto Rico company will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Maxar.

• NASA is launching its Psyche mission next year at the cost of the VERITAS Venus probe, which has been delayed three years.

• Spire ($SPIR) launched a new product for dark shipping detection. Dark ships are vessels used for sanction evasions, illegal fishing, and other nefarious activities.

• Tehran announced a successful suborbital test flight of Ghaem-100, a new solid fuel rocket.

• China launched the Zhongxing-19 satellite on a CZ-3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

• Northrop Grumman ($NOC) and NASA’s NG-18 cargo resupply mission is on its way to the ISS. The S.S. Sally Ride spacecraft, named after the first American woman in space, launched from Wallops at 5:32am ET.

The View from Wallops