Cleanup of existing orbital debris could be complicated by lack of clear international norms on how to handle small objects, space law experts told us. Many said clean-up efforts will almost surely focus on big objects in space since technology to deal with small debris is still under development.
The Satellite Industry Association recommends the National Space Council make regulatory changes to the U.S.' commercial remote sensing rules and its export control regime for RF remote sensing satellites and data. In a white paper Wednesday, SIA said commercial remote sensing rules should change to reflect emerging applications such as RF remote sensing and the use of hyperspectral and short-waved infrared remote sensing. It said the "Fundamental Goal" for language in the national security policy directive adopted in 2003 should be updated to include economic leadership and commercial space innovation. In a separate paper, the industry group said there should be an interagency review of existing International Trafficking in Arms Regulations rules and "a more pragmatic policy and licensing approach" to ITAR rather than the assumption all RF remote sensing satellite products for all users and use cases fall under the State Department rules. It said an alternative could be putting RF remote sensing with other space systems without ITAR controls.
The Satellite Industry Association recommends that the National Space Council make regulatory changes to the U.S.'s commercial remote sensing rules and its export control regime for radio frequency (RF) remote sensing satellites and data. In a white paper Oct. 19, SIA said commercial remote sensing rules should change to reflect emerging applications such as RF remote sensing and the use of hyperspectral and short-waved infrared remote sensing. It said the "Fundamental Goal" for language in the national security policy directive adopted in 2003 should be updated to include economic leadership and commercial space innovation. In a separate paper, the industry group said there should be an interagency review of existing International Trafficking in Arms Regulations rules and "a more pragmatic policy and licensing approach" to ITAR, rather than the assumption that all RF remote sensing satellite products for all users and use cases fall under the State Department rules. It said an alternative could be putting RF remote sensing with other space systems without ITAR controls.
Artificial intelligence export controls should only be imposed multilaterally and should contain no ambiguity in order to minimize harm on U.S. competitiveness, trade groups told the Commerce Department this week. They said the controls also should clearly distinguish between “general purpose” and “application specific” AI software so the restrictions only cover items that pose genuine national security concerns.
Rural broadband providers and electric cooperatives stressed the need Tuesday for more partnerships with communities and industry for broadband deployment. It’s “time to think creatively” about how to “get the job done” given recent federal broadband investments, said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield during a webinar.
Commercial space operators increasingly are interested in nuclear power sources in space, and it’s unclear how the FAA launch license process, which includes a payload review, will handle those cases, said space lawyer Franceska Schroeder Friday at University of Nebraska's annual space law conference in Washington. She said the National Space Council has said there will be more government focus on managing such issues from a payload and on-orbit operation perspective. Tackling the emerging threat of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) -- something deliberately coming close to commercial or military satellites for a prolonged period of time, often for purposes of espionage or intellectual property theft -- carries a variety of legal and technological hurdles, space national security experts said. Better space situational awareness is a must but won’t fix the problem, said Brian Weeden, Secure World Foundation program planning director. Norms are tough to define, and "keep-out zones" are difficult to protect, he said. Guardian satellites working as blockers are of limited use for many threats, he said. Under the Outer Space Treaty, there is no such thing as national appropriation in space, so claiming a zone falls within a gray area legally, said Lt. Col. Susan Trepczynski of the Air Force Operations and International Law Directorate. As space gets more congested, defining such zones becomes increasingly difficult, she said. Lt. Col. Seth Dilworth, Air Force deputy chief-space law, said the drawback with creating RPO norms is it handcuffs U.S. behavior when other nations that are engaged or likely to engage in RPOs aren't likely to take up those norms. Images taken in space of other things in space are rapidly becoming a commercially available product, Weeden said. He said NOAA's once-heavy restrictions on non-earth imaging are loosening notably more quickly than the agency's restrictions on earth remote viewing have.
President Joe Biden last week extended for one year beyond Oct. 27 a national emergency that authorizes certain sanctions related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The White House said the African country "has been marked by widespread violence and atrocities that continue to threaten regional stability."
Congressional telecom policy leaders and other observers are hopeful but not certain that additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program and next-generation 911 tech upgrades will remain top priorities in FY 2023 appropriations talks, amid the apparent lack of consensus so far on allocating future spectrum auction proceeds for that purpose. Lawmakers agreed last month to temporarily extend the FCC’s auction authority through Dec. 16 via a continuing resolution to buy additional time for talks on a broader spectrum legislative package that allocates sales proceeds to telecom projects (see 2209300058).
E-rate advocates sought more emphasis on cybersecurity in the program, during a Schools, Health, & Libraries Broadband Coalition event Thursday. Delivering internet connections is “an ongoing challenge” for E-rate participants, said Funds for Learning CEO John Harrington, and most identified cybersecurity as a cost that should be part of the program’s eligible services list. Whether it should be listed under category 1 or category 2 “is a debate that I would love for us to be having,” he said. “We should never take for granted that there’s a program that provides support” for more than 132,000 schools and libraries, Harrington said, saying there are also some “real practical limitations” to implementing the FCC’s proposed central bidding portal for the E-rate program (see 2204280051).
The Biden administration wants to improve the effectiveness of multilateral export controls and is building toward the creation of an outbound investment screening regime, the White House said in its national security strategy published this week. Along with a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, the long-awaited strategy outlines the administration’s approach to trade and emerging technologies and its efforts to outcompete in its rivalry with China and continue to sanction Russia.