The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Space Bureau is moving to make additional radio frequency spectrum available to support a new wave of emerging space activities – including what Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz described as “weird space stuff.”
At an Congressional Internet Caucus Academy event on Wednesday, Schwarz said that the FCC is working to expand spectrum access as part of a broader response to what he called the “space industrial revolution,” marked by a rapid increase in satellites and other space-based systems.
“Spectrum is the lifeblood of so many activities,” Schwarz said, noting that the commission proposed last year making 20,000 megahertz of new spectrum available for satellite services to keep pace with growing demand.
At an FCC meeting later this month, the commission will propose opening spectrum bands to non-communications type activities that will build out the space economy, Schwarz said.
Or, in other words, “weird space stuff.”
“We couldn’t think of a great, really nice technical term, so we just started calling it ‘weird space stuff’ and it stuck,” Schwarz said.
Those activities include a range of services that support operations in orbit and beyond traditional satellite communications. These include in-space servicing and infrastructure missions such as refueling satellites, orbital transport, and other operational systems, Schwarz said.
“All of those need radio frequency spectrum, so they need to come talk to the FCC,” he explained.
According to Schwarz, many commercial missions pursuing those activities have struggled to secure spectrum under current rules.
He said the Space Bureau is developing a framework for new space missions – including satellite refueling and orbital transport – that fall outside traditional communications systems. Officials said earlier rules created a “square peg, round hole issue” by applying large-constellation licensing criteria to very different missions.
The FCC’s Space Bureau wants to ensure regulations enable new business models, such as making space more accessible to smaller companies.
“As business models have gone from something pretty standard to now all sorts of great ideas that people have, we’ve wanted to make sure the regulations provide the freedom and flexibility for that,” Schwarz said.
One example he gave is a ground station as a service, which lets satellite operators – particularly smaller firms – rent access to Earth-based ground stations instead of building their own.
The bureau is also supporting direct-to-device satellite connectivity, which lets satellites connect directly with consumer devices such as smartphones. Schwarz said the capability is expanding quickly and could eventually allow users to access connectivity “anywhere in the world” from their devices.