FCC Tells Court SpaceX Second-Gen Approval 'Reasonable'
The FCC's 2022 approval of SpaceX's second-generation constellation was reasonable in how it treated harmful interference and National Environmental Policy Act considerations, the agency told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday in an appellee brief…
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(docket 22-1337). Dish Network and the International Dark Sky Association challenged the approval in a consolidated action (see 2304170005). The appellee agency told the court it "reasonably properly adhered to its rules" in accepting SpaceX's certification of compliance with applicable power limits and "reasonably concluded" SpaceX's certification of compliance with the ITU’s equivalent power flux density limits and conditions placed on it provided sufficient harmful interference protection. It said it "reasonably concluded" there wasn't evidence in the record of potentially significant effects that required an environmental assessment -- particularly given the voluntary commitments of SpaceX and the conditions on it. Dish argues the FCC should have considered a Dish-commissioned study that supposedly shows SpaceX not complying with ITU power limits, but the agency said its rules only require that SpaceX certify its compliance, which SpaceX did.The commission said an environmental assessment becomes required only if there's evidence SpaceX's Starlink satellites would have "significant" effect on the night sky, "which the Commission reasonably found not to be the case here."