Res Communis

Federal Register: Procedures To Govern the Use of Satellite Earth Stations on Board Vessels in the 5925-6425 MHz/3700-4200 MHz Bands and 14.0-14.5 GHz/ 11.7-12.2 GHz Bands

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The FCC published a rule on Procedures To Govern the Use of Satellite Earth Stations on Board Vessels in the 5925-6425 MHz/3700-4200 MHz Bands and 14.0-14.5 GHz/ 11.7-12.2 GHz Bands in today’s Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 47100-47107).

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) modifies its C-band and Ku-band licensing and service rules for Earth Stations on Board Vessels (ESVs) in order to promote greater ESV operational flexibility without causing harmful interference to the fixed service (FS) and fixed-satellite service (FSS) operators and a limited number of Government operations in those bands.

Investigation on Missing Moon Rocks

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From Red Orbit:

Missing Moon Rocks Lead To Investigation
Posted on: Monday, 14 September 2009, 11:05 CDT

Last month, officials with the Netherlands’ national museum reported that it had been holding a piece of petrified wood, which had been mistaken for a piece of rubble from the surface of the moon.

The announcement sparked an investigation, being led by the Associated Press, to recover the whereabouts of about 270 moon rocks.

The rocks were collected by US astronauts and distributed to other countries as international gifts from the Nixon administration. But since then, many of the rare stones have gone off the radar.

NASA still holds the larger share of the moon rock collection. It has kept the majority of 842 lbs, while smaller and mid-sized rocks are given away to other countries and museums. . . .[Full Story]

Application of SIRIUS XM RADIO INC. For Special Temporary Authority to Operate Twenty SDARS Terrestrial Repeaters in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The FCC has issued an Order and Authorization in the Application of SIRIUS XM RADIO INC. For Special Temporary Authority to Operate Twenty SDARS Terrestrial Repeaters in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (IBFS File No. SAT-STA-20081027-00210). The Order grants “the application of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Sirius XM) for special temporary authority (STA) to operate twenty Satellite Digital Radio Service (SDARS) terrestrial repeaters in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) for a period of 180 days.”

U.S. and Europe Agree on Civil Space Transportation Cooperation

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From NASA:

RELEASE : 09-208

U.S. and Europe Agree on Civil Space Transportation Cooperation

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain signed a memorandum of understanding Friday for cooperation in the field of space transportation. The agreement was signed at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“From shuttle Spacelab missions to the International Space Station, ESA has a long history of participating with NASA in human spaceflight,” Bolden said. “With this agreement, it is our intent to continue to build this relationship, sharing valuable engineering analyses and technology concepts that will help transport humans to low Earth orbit and beyond.”

The agreement will allow NASA and ESA to exchange technical information and personnel, which will aid the eventual development of new transportation systems. It is expected that ESA’s Ariane 5 development and flight experience will provide valuable engineering analyses and technology concepts for NASA’s new launch and spacecraft systems.

“The memorandum of understanding marks a new milestone in the already very strong and long-lasting cooperation between ESA and NASA,” said ESA’s Dordain. “The exchange of technical information this document allows in the fields of space transportation will be beneficial to both agencies and will facilitate our work toward future launch systems, human spaceflight and exploration missions.”

The exchanges of information will provide NASA with assistance in a number of areas, including: composite material technology; development of payload shrouds; and management of propellants in spacecraft propulsion systems used for transit to and from lunar orbit.

Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing of the Cooperation Agreement on a Satellite Navigation between the European Community and its Member States and the Kingdom of Norway

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

A Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing of the Cooperation Agreement on a Satellite Navigation between the European Community and its Member States and the Kingdom of Norway has been made available by the COuncil of the European Union. The grounds and objectives of the proposal are:

Technological, geographical and financial reasons have ensured Norway an important role in the European GNSS. Norway provides critical technology to Galileo and is the host for two important ground installations on Svalbard and Antarctica that contribute to the proper functioning of the system. This Agreement aims to settle the principles of cooperation in general and the rights and obligations of Norway mainly in relevant areas, such as security, that are not covered by existing Galileo acquis. The Agreement has been negotiated on the basis of negotiation directives adopted by the Council on 8 July 2005. The Agreement was initialled on 17 July 2009.

The Agreement will be complemented by a proposed EEA Joint Committee Decision (Doc No 25100, Case No. 25099) amending Protocols 31 and 37 to the EEA Agreement by which Norway subscribes to Council Regulation (EC) No 1321/2004 of 12 July 2004 on the establishment of structures for the management of the European satellite radio-navigation programmes, Regulation (EC) No 1942/2006 of 12 December 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 1321/2004 on the establishment of structures for the management of the European satellite radio-navigation programmes and Regulation (EC) No 683/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on the further implementation of the European satellite navigation programmes (EGNOS and Galileo). Articles 4 §5 and 6§4 of this Regulation open up the possibility for third countries to provide additional funding to the European GNSS programmes in accordance with conditions to be laid down in Agreements pursuant to Article 300 of the Treaty.

The Agreement is limited to topics that are necessary to allow close cooperation with Norway. The construction and management of Galileo and EGNOS as EC-wide programs highlight the need for common approaches and working methods between all the EU member states and some non-EU states (Norway and Switzerland). The rules for these topics need to be set by the governments and coherently enforced Europewide. The Commission as program manager acting on behalf of the Community, the owner of the system, needs to take all reasonable measures to induce this coherence. Failing to do this would increase security risks and the expos ure of the EC and its Member States for liability claims in case of serious incidents.

Disasters Charter: Floods in Turkey

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The Disasters Charter has been activated for floods in Turkey:

Floods in Turkey

Type of Event: Floods
Location of Event: Turkey
Date of Charter Activation: 10/09/2009
Charter Requestor: Ministry of Public Works and Settlement – General Directorate of Disaster Affairs, Turkey
Project Management: CNES

Description of the Event
Heavy rains over the Marmara Region affected the districts of Silivri, Catalca, B. Cekmece, K. Cekmece and Bakirkoy in Istanbul. By the afternoon of 9 September, 31 casualties were reported, along with missing people.

Federal Register: Notice – Incidental Takes of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities; Harbor Activities Related to the Delta IV/Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

NOAA published a notice of Federal Register: Notice – Incidental Takes of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities; Harbor Activities Related to the Delta IV/Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA in todays Federal Register (74 Fed. Reg. 46742-46745):

SUMMARY: In accordance with the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to United Launch Alliance (ULA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental to harbor activities related to the Delta IV/Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) at south Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB).

The application for the authorization is available from NOAA.