Re FCC Accuses Stealthy Startup of Launching Rogue Satellites

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Suresh Ramasubramanian <suresh () hserus net>
> Date: March 11, 2018 at 10:43:46 PM EDT
> To: <dave () farber net>
> Cc: <synthesis.law.and.technology () gmail com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Re FCC Accuses Stealthy Startup of Launching Rogue Satellites
>
> https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/25981/might-isros-2018-004-launch-be-at-least-a-technical-violation-of-the-outer-spac
>
> As you might expect these are regulated by an international treaty to which both India and the USA are signatories.
>
> _____________________________
> From: Dave Farber <farber () gmail com>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Synthesis:Law and Technology" <synthesis.law.and.technology () gmail com>
> Date: March 11, 2018 at 2:50:00 PM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Cc: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] FCC Accuses Stealthy Startup of Launching Rogue Satellites
>
> Dave,
>
> This paragraph in the story struck me most.  A US company failing to comply with US law/authority is one thing, but 
> other countries?
> "An unauthorized launch would also call into question the ability of secondary satellite ‘ride-share’ companies and 
> foreign launch providers to comply with U.S. space regulations."
>
> Dan Steinberg
>
> SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
> 2-45 Helene-Duval     
> Gatineau Quebec
> J8X 3C5        
>                
>
>
>
> > On Sun, Mar 11, 2018 at 1:34 PM, Dave Farber <farber () gmail com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> > Date: March 11, 2018 at 1:26:26 PM EDT
> > To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> > Subject: [Dewayne-Net] FCC Accuses Stealthy Startup of Launching Rogue Satellites
> > Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
> >
> > [Note:  This item comes from friend David Rosenthal.  DLH]
> >
> > FCC Accuses Stealthy Startup of Launching Rogue Satellites
> > The U.S. communications agency says tiny Internet of Things satellites from Swarm Technologies could endanger other 
> > spacecraft
> > By Mark Harris
> > Mar 9 2018
> > <https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/satellites/fcc-accuses-stealthy-startup-of-launching-rogue-satellites>
> >
> > On 12 January, a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket blasted off from India’s eastern coast. While its 
> > primary cargo was a large Indian mapping satellite, dozens of secondary CubeSats from other countries travelled 
> > along with it. Seattle-based Planetary Resources supplied a spacecraft that will test prospecting tools for future 
> > asteroid miners, Canadian company Telesat launched a broadband communications satellite, and a British 
> > Earth-observation mission called Carbonite will capture high-definition video of the planet’s surface.
> >
> > Also on board were four small satellites that probably should not have been there. SpaceBee-1, 2, 3, and 4 were 
> > briefly described by the Indian space agency ISRO as “two-way satellite communications and data relay” devices from 
> > the United States. No operator was specified, and only ISRO publicly noted that they successfully reached orbit the 
> > same day.
> >
> > IEEE Spectrum can reveal that the SpaceBees are almost certainly the first spacecraft from a Silicon Valley startup 
> > called Swarm Technologies, currently still in stealth mode. Swarm was founded in 2016 by one engineer who developed 
> > a spacecraft concept for Google and another who sold his previous company to Apple. The SpaceBees were built as 
> > technology demonstrators for a new space-based Internet of Things communications network.
> >
> > Swarm believes its network could enable satellite communications for orders of magnitude less cost than existing 
> > options. It envisages the worldwide tracking of ships and cars, new agricultural technologies, and low cost 
> > connectivity for humanitarian efforts anywhere in the world. The four SpaceBees would be the first practical 
> > demonstration of Swarm’s prototype hardware and cutting-edge algorithms, swapping data with ground stations for up 
> > to eight years.
> >
> > The only problem is, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had dismissed Swarm’s application for its 
> > experimental satellites a month earlier, on safety grounds. The FCC is responsible for regulating commercial 
> > satellites, including minimizing the chance of accidents in space. It feared that the four SpaceBees now orbiting 
> > the Earth would pose an unacceptable collision risk for other spacecraft.
> >
> > If confirmed, this would be the first ever unauthorized launch of commercial satellites.
> >
> > On Wednesday, the FCC sent Swarm a letter revoking its authorization for a follow-up mission with four more 
> > satellites, due to launch next month. A pending application for a large market trial of Swarm’s system with two 
> > Fortune 100 companies could also be in jeopardy.
> >
> > In fact, the FCC told the startup that the agency would assess “the impact of the applicant’s apparent unauthorized 
> > launch and operation of four satellites… on its qualifications to be a Commission licensee.” If Swarm cannot 
> > convince the FCC otherwise, the startup could lose permission to build its revolutionary network before the wider 
> > world even knows the company exists.
> >
> > An unauthorized launch would also call into question the ability of secondary satellite ‘ride-share’ companies and 
> > foreign launch providers to comply with U.S. space regulations.
> >
> > Swarm Technologies, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is the brainchild of two talented young aerospace engineers. Sara 
> > Spangelo, its CEO, is a Canadian who worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, before moving to Google in 2016. 
> > Spangelo’s astronaut candidate profile at the Canadian Space Agency says that while at Google, she led a team 
> > developing a spacecraft concept for its moonshot X division, including both technical and market analyses.
> >
> > [snip]
> >
> > Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> > Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp
>
> Archives | Modify Your Subscription | Unsubscribe Now 



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20180311233114:CF140D14-25A5-11E8-B639-A569EBD0E5BA
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com