January 17, 2023

BY ELECTRONIC FILING
Marlene H. Dortch
Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
45 L Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20554

Re: IBFS File No. SAT-PPL-20211104-00146; Call Sign S3106.

Dear Ms. Dortch:

To preserve the sustainability of space for services that help people on the ground, for space
exploration, and for human space travel, now and into the future, the Commission should impose,
as conditions on any authorization granted to Intelsat License LLC in this proceeding, the space
sustainability requirements it recently determined were in the public interest when authorizing
SpaceX’s second-generation (“Gen2”) NGSO system. Specifically, as in the Gen2 Order, the
Commission should require Intelsat to:

• file semi-annual reports on collision avoidance maneuvers and satellite disposal, including
any difficulties or failures related thereto;
• apply a new performance-based method for assessing disposal failures that accounts for
both the number of failed satellites and their entire passive decay time;
• communicate and collaborate with NASA to promote space safety and sustainability;
• take all possible steps to assess and mitigate collision risk after receiving a conjunction
warning from the 19th Space Defense Squadron or other source; and
• coordinate with NSF to reach a mutually acceptable agreement to mitigate the impact of
its satellites on optical ground-based astronomy, with associated annual reporting
requirements. 1

Conditioning Intelsat’s license on compliance with licensing conditions that match those
of the Gen2 Order, which were derived from broadly applicable concerns voiced by NASA and
other key stakeholders, would serve the public interest by promoting fair competition and
innovation while helping to preserve space for future generations. As Amazon correctly explained
in its comments in SpaceX’s Gen2 proceeding, the Commission must:

1
See Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, Order and Authorization, FCC 22-91, Call Sign S3069, ¶¶ 135z, 135aa,
135cc, 135ee-gg (rel. Dec. 1, 2022) (“Gen2 Order”). For completeness, SpaceX includes the specific
requirements at issue in Attachment 1 hereto, except for the second-to-last requirement, which implements a rule
already adopted in the Commission’s orbital debris proceeding that has not yet taken effect. See Mitigation of
Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, 35 FCC Rcd. 4156, ¶¶ 72-74 (2020) (“2020 Orbital Debris Further
Notice”).
Marlene H. Dortch
January 17, 2023
Page 2 of 4

[E]nsure that the conditions imposed on SpaceX match those imposed on Amazon
and other similarly situated operators. Balanced rules and conditions on similarly
situated operators promote fair competition and cooperation. Disparate conditions
distort the playing field, introduce uncertainty and ambiguity that ossifies the
licensing process with fighting and advocacy, and make coordination among
operators more difficult. Beyond being required by the Administrative Procedure
Act, similar treatment of similarly situated operators is necessary to further the
Commission’s goal of making the licensing process faster and more efficient. 2

Beyond just benefitting consumers, competition, and administrative efficiency, applying

the Gen2 requirements to Intelsat’s constellation would also improve space sustainability. For
example, imposing a semi-annual satellite health reporting requirement on Intelsat consistent with
the Gen2 requirement would provide the Commission and industry with an ongoing, consistent set
of data on the reliability and collision risks associated with its system, while addressing general
concerns that NASA has raised about both small and large constellations. Indeed, annual reporting
from all operators, including Intelsat, would enable the public to efficiently compare satellite
health and space sustainability efforts across the industry. Similarly, applying LeoLabs’ “object-
years” method to Intelsat would provide a scalable, performance-based orbital debris mitigation
framework with a trigger for pausing launches if Intelsat’s system imposes unacceptable burdens
on space, regardless of the size of its operations. Other operational requirements would address
NASA’s desire to protect its critical assets and missions, as reflected in NASA’s comments in the
Commission’s ongoing orbital debris proceeding and in response to individual licensing
applications. 3

While the Commission initially imposed the Gen2 conditions only on SpaceX, the
principles underlying those requirements are equally applicable to Intelsat. Several
requirements—including the semi-annual reporting obligation—stem from generalized concerns
that NASA has raised in the Commission’s pending orbital debris proceeding and has filed in
multiple other NGSO-licensing proceedings, including those of Amazon and OneWeb. But
NASA’s concerns are not limited solely to large constellations, and therefore should not apply
only to them. Specifically, based on its analysis of the risks involved and other factors, NASA has
recommended that any constellation of 25 or more satellites should be subject to the same level of
additional orbital debris requirements. 4 NASA also “recommends strongly against increasing the
level beyond 25” as doing so could have a cumulative effect that would “provide the same overall
sets of problems as a large constellation.” 5 However, because the Gen2 requirements involve

2
Comments of Kuiper Systems LLC, IBFS File Nos. SAT-LOA-20200526-00055 and SAT-AMD-20210818-
00105, at 17-18 (Feb. 8, 2022).
3
See, e.g., Letter from Samantha Johnson to Marlene Dortch, IBFS File No. SAT-MOD-20211207-00186 (June
29, 2022) (commenting on Amazon’s orbital debris modification application); Letter from Samantha Johnson to
Marlene Dortch, IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062 (Apr. 22, 2022) (commenting on OneWeb’s second
processing round application); Letter from Anne E. Sweet to Marlene Dortch, IB Docket No. 18-313, at 6 (filed
Apr. 4, 2019) (commenting in first round of the orbital debris proceeding).
4
See Comments of NASA at 2, 6, IB Docket No. 18-313 (filed Nov. 10, 2020).
5
See id. at 8.
Marlene H. Dortch
January 17, 2023
Page 3 of 4

relatively straightforward reporting and coordination obligations, no reasonable justification exists

for exempting even smaller constellations.

Similarly, the Commission derived the performance-based Gen2 disposal failure condition
from a general proposal that LeoLabs also submitted in the Commission’s broader orbital debris
proceeding to enhance space sustainability for all operators. In its comments, LeoLabs explained
that its proposal was designed to inform “the future direction of regulatory requirements” for all
operators, “no matter how many satellites they have,” rather than to constrain a single U.S.-
licensed operator. 6 While LeoLabs has petitioned for reconsideration of the use of 100 as the
appropriate number of object-years in the Gen2 proceeding, whatever metric the Commission
determines is appropriate, the “object-years” method represents a major step forward in measuring
responsible operations and should apply evenly to all operators, including Intelsat.

Finally, NASA and NSF have raised general concerns about the potential impact of NGSO
satellite systems on science missions, and in particular, the effects of sunlight reflected from
satellites on astronomical observation. 7 For example, in a letter filed in the Gen2 proceeding, NSF
identified several mitigation strategies of general applicability that it encouraged satellite operators
to adopt to reduce satellite reflectivity, including “reducing optical brightness to 7th magnitude or
fainter via darkening, deflecting light away from the Earth, or attitude maneuvering, moving
orbital elevations to ~700 km or lower, provision of orbital information for astronomers to work
on scheduling observations around satellite locations, and other ideas to be developed.” 8 To
address these concerns, the Commission adopted a condition in the Gen2 Order requiring
collaboration with NASA and NSF to achieve agreements to minimize the impact of satellites on
astronomy and other science missions and the filing of an annual progress report with the
Commission. 9 Any grant in this proceeding should include similar conditions for Intelsat.

***

6
Letter from Darren McKnight to Karl Kensinger, IB Docket No. 18-313; IBFS File Nos. SAT-LOA-20200526-
00055 and SAT-AMD-20210818-00105, at 2, 5 (filed Mar. 29, 2022).
7
See Letter from Samantha Johnson, NASA to Marlene Dortch, FCC, IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062,
at 3-5 (filed Apr. 22, 2022); Letter from Jonathan Williams to FCC, IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062,
at 1 (filed Apr. 22, 2022) (“NSF Comments”).
8
See NSF Comments at 1.
9
See Gen2 Order ¶¶ 135ff and gg. These conditions, revised to apply to Intelsat, are set forth as numbers 4 and 5
in Attachment 1.
Marlene H. Dortch
January 17, 2023
Page 4 of 4

SpaceX remains steadfast in its commitment to industry-leading operations to ensure space

sustainability for all. But only with all operators working together under a common set of
requirements can we truly promote space sustainability for future operations and human space
flight. While questions remain about the extent of the Commission’s authority over space
sustainability, to be effective, the Commission must apply its requirements equally to similarly
situated operators, and not through a patchwork of conflicting licensing conditions. The
Commission has already determined that the space sustainability requirements included in the
Gen2 Order will serve the public interest, and should therefore adopt them as conditions on
Intelsat’s authorization as well, thereby establishing a meaningful and broadly applicable baseline
for sustainable operations in space.

Sincerely,

/s/ David Goldman

David Goldman
Senior Director of Satellite Policy

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

1155 F Street, NW
Suite 475
Washington, DC 20004
Email: David.Goldman@spacex.com

Attachment
 ATTACHMENT 1
SPACE SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS

1. Intelsat License LLC (“Intelsat”) must provide a semi-annual report, by January 1 and July 1
each year, covering the preceding six-month period, respectively, from June 1 to November 30
and December 1 to May 31. The report should include the following information:
i. The number of conjunction events identified for Intelsat’s satellites during the reporting
period, and the number of events that resulted in an action (maneuver or coordination
with another operator), as well as any difficulties encountered in connection with the
collision avoidance process and any measures taken to address those difficulties,
ii. Satellites that, for purposes of disposal, were removed from operation or screened from
further deployment at any time following initial deployment, and identifying whether this
occurred less than five years after the satellite began regular operations or were available
for use as an on-orbit replacement satellite,
iii. Satellites that re-entered the atmosphere,
iv. Satellites for which there was a disposal failure, i.e., a satellite that loses the capability
to maneuver effectively after being raised from its injection, including a discussion of
any assessed cause of the failure and remedial actions. For each such satellite, Intelsat
shall report an estimated orbital lifetime for the satellite following the failure, and for
Intelsat’s constellation the cumulative number of failed satellite object years,
v. Identification of any collision avoidance system outages or unavailability, either on a
system-wide basis or for individual satellites. An “outage” would include any individual
satellite anomaly that results in a satellite not achieving targeted risk mitigation via
maneuver.
2. In the event of satellite failures resulting in more than 100 post-failure object years, Intelsat
may not deploy any additional satellites until the Commission has approved a license
modification that includes an updated orbital debris mitigation plan addressing reduction in the
failure rate or mitigation of the risk of satellite failures.
3. Intelsat must communicate and collaborate with NASA to enable safe launch windows to
support safety of both Intelsat and NASA assets and missions and to preserve long-term
sustainable space-based communications services. Intelsat must report on the progress of its
communications and collaboration efforts to the Commission in its regular reports specified in
requirement [1].
4. Intelsat must continue to coordinate and collaborate with NASA to promote a mutually
beneficial space environment that would minimize impacts to NASA’s science missions
involving astronomy.
5. Intelsat must coordinate with NSF to achieve a mutually acceptable agreement to mitigate the
impact of its satellites on optical ground-based astronomy. Intelsat must submit an annual
report to the Commission, by January 1st each year covering the preceding year containing the
following information: (1) whether it has reached a coordination agreement with NSF
addressing optical astronomy; and (2) any steps Intelsat has taken to reduce the impact of its
satellites on optical astronomy, including but not limited to darkening, deflecting light away
from the Earth, attitude maneuvering, and provision of orbital information to astronomers for
scheduling observations around satellites’ locations.
 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that, on this 17th day of January 2023, a copy of the foregoing pleading

was served by first class U.S. mail upon:

W. Ray Rutngamlug
Intelsat US LLC
7900 Tysons One Place
McLean, VA 22102

Cynthia J. Grady
Intelsat US LLC
7900 Tysons One Place
McLean, VA 22102

/s/ Jameson Dempsey_

Jameson Dempsey