- The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules in space and Earth station licensing
- The new rules center on the Part 100 framework involving a “licensing assembly line” to boost processing and review efficiency
- The changes also require space situational awareness data sharing to improve space safety
The Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday that it has voted to adopt a sweeping overhaul of its space and Earth station licensing process, replacing decades-old regulations with a new framework designed to speed up approvals and support the growing commercial space sector.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty voted to approve the order. The action was taken alongside a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under docket FCC 26-47.
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What Are the New Licensing Rules?
The Commission’s Report and Order scraps the legacy Part 25 rules entirely rather than making incremental changes, rebuilding the licensing structure from the ground up under a new Part 100. The rulemaking was completed in approximately 18 months.
Central to the new rules is what the agency is calling a “licensing assembly line,” an approach that modularizes space and Earth station applications so they can move through the review process more efficiently. The change is intended to give companies greater predictability about timelines while equipping the FCC with new tools to support space innovators seeking to bring systems online faster.
The new Part 100 rules revise a broad range of legacy requirements, including surety bond obligations, license terms and application filing frameworks. The order also establishes bright-line criteria for determining when an application serves the public interest, while spelling out the exceptional circumstances that would trigger more extensive review.
Moreover, the rule promotes space safety by requiring satellite operators to share space situational awareness data, while also eliminating unnecessary licensing and operating rules in keeping with the agency’s Delete, Delete, Delete initiative.
What Were the FCC Steps Leading Up to the Overhaul?
A year before the FCC leaders voted to adopt the rule changes, the commission announced plans to modernize its satellite licensing to keep up with global competition while bolstering national security. In October, the FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking to transition from the Part 25 to Part 100 framework in its modernization of U.S. space regulation.
