Hickenlooper’s Launch Communications Act Signed into Law

New law will modernize space launches, support space exploration

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Eric Schmitt celebrated the announcement that President Biden signed their bipartisan Launch Communications Act into law. The new law, which the senators introduced last year, will modernize the current Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) process for licensing spectrum for commercial space launches to help the U.S. remain the global leader in space exploration.

"Our Launch Communications Act is a win for American innovation," said Hickenlooper. "We're excited President Biden signed it into law so we can lead the next era of space exploration."

"It's great news that the White House signed my Launch Communications Act into law. I will never stop advocating for common sense legislation which streamlines unnecessarily burdensome government processes. As Ranking Member of the Space and Science Subcommittee on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I have made it a priority to make it easier, not harder, for the commercial space industry to continue to innovate. America must maintain its edge in the 21st century space race against China, and this legislation is a necessary step in maintaining American space dominance. I want to also thank Senator Hickenlooper and Representatives Soto and Dunn for their work on this critical piece of legislation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the new law is implemented correctly and enforced properly," said Schmitt.

The FCC's current process for licensing spectrum for commercial space launches was created decades ago when there were very few commercial space launches. The FCC's licensing rules have not kept pace with the growing demand for commercial space launches that support scientific, economic, and national security objectives.

Specifically, the Launch Communications Act will resolve current challenges in the FCC's licensing process by:

• Requiring the FCC to allocate temporary spectrum access for commercial space launch and reentry activities on a secondary basis within the following frequency bands if approved:
  • 2025-2210 MHz, 2200-2290 MHz, 2360-2395 MHz.

• Allowing launch providers to bundle spectrum applications for multiple similar launches in order to streamline the application process and decrease the administrative burden on providers and the FCC.

• Instructing the FCC to create an automated process to review applications instead of the current manual review process which has resulted in a ground stop of critical space launches in past cases of government shutdowns when applications cannot be processed.

• Requiring the FCC to issue new regulations to improve coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to speed up the authorization process.

The Launch Communications Act is supported by Blue Origin and The United Launch Alliance, both of which have a presence in Colorado, in addition to SpaceX.

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