U.S. aims to establish regular dialogue on outer space with China
July 20, 2011 at 9:57 am | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) – The United States wants to open a regular dialogue with China on outer space in an effort to create “rules for the road” and reduce the risk of misunderstandings, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
China is making major investments in space and, unlike in the United States, distinguishing between China’s civil and military space sectors is difficult because “the two are essentially one,” Gregory Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said.
The United States recognizes that China is a “major space-faring country,” he said. [more]
Stratcom Could Ink International Data Sharing Pacts
July 20, 2011 at 8:58 am | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: Space News
WASHINGTON — The White House is looking to give U.S. Strategic Command (Stratcom) the authority to negotiate orbital data sharing agreements with other nations as part of a broader effort to ensure safety of operations in the increasingly congested space environment, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said.
Ambassador Gregory Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, also said the United States and China have agreed in principle to hold regular military space consultations. He cautioned that no such meetings have been scheduled yet but said the two sides have an ongoing military dialogue and share a common interest in preserving the space environment and ensuring that it does not become a flash point in their relations. [more]
The EU presses for regulation on greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft
July 20, 2011 at 8:09 am | Posted in Aviation Law Current Event | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: The Washington Post
See The E.U. has the right idea in regulating greenhouse gases from airplanes
European Commission positions itself against LightSquared, proposal still under FCC review
July 20, 2011 at 7:59 am | Posted in Telecommunications | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: AVweb
The European Commission has added its name to the long list of those opposed to LightSquared’s plan to use satellite band frequencies for a ground network of broadband transmitters. The proposal, which is now before the Federal Communications Commission for comment, has been widely condemned by pro-GPS companies and organizations in the U.S. because it could disrupt GPS service. The European Commission is now officially worried the broadband signals will obliterate signals from its Galileo satellite-based navigation system, which will deploy in three years, and Heinz Zourek, the director general for enterprise and industry, says the signals may have an even greater impact on Galileo equipment than the interference being reported on GPS receivers. “Interference effects have been determined to occur in the range [of] 100 [meters] to almost 1,000 [kilometers],” Zourek said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The main concern is that Galileo receivers operating in the U.S. will be affected by the signals but Zourek notes GPS users will also be affected by the interference caused to Galileo signals. He said Galileo is designed to work hand-in-glove with GPS to improve accuracy and reliability. Zourek acknowledged that individual countries can allocate radio spectrum as they see fit but international conventions don’t allow interference with the systems of other countries.
European Commission’s letter on LightSquared [PDF]
GA groups continue fight against user fees
July 20, 2011 at 7:55 am | Posted in Aviation Law Current Event | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: AOPA
The prospect of general aviation user fees has reared its head again, this time in debt-reduction negotiations. GA groups are urging members of the House and Senate to reject this “resoundingly discredited approach to raising revenues.” [more]
Source: AVweb
All the major aviation groups have signed a letter (PDF) to House Speaker John Boehner opposing the user fee idea as inefficient and potentially damaging to GA. The idea was floated at meetings concerning the debt ceiling debate and the alphabets say the concept has been thoroughly debated in the past and rejected and it hasn’t gotten any better with age. “User fees have absolutely devastated general aviation in other parts of the world, and in the United States, they would only serve to create a new federal collection bureaucracy of billing agents, auditors and collection officials to harass small businesses and others,” the letter reads.
FAA Final Rule: Update of Overflight Fees
July 20, 2011 at 7:47 am | Posted in Aviation Law | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: Federal Register [PDF]
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 20, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43112-43119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18285]———————————————————————–
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 187
[Docket No.: FAA-2010-0326; Amendment No. 187-35]
RIN 2120-AJ68Update of August 2001 Overflight Fees
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule.
———————————————————————–
SUMMARY: This final rule updates existing Overflight Fees using more
current FAA cost accounting data and air traffic activity data.
Overflight Fees are charges for aircraft flights that transit U.S.-
controlled airspace, but neither land in nor depart from the United
States. These fees have not been updated in nearly a decade and are
based upon 1999 cost accounting and activity data. This action is
necessary because operational costs have increased steadily since the
fees were last updated. This adjustment of Overflight Fees will result
in an increased level of cost recovery for the services being provided.DATES: Effective October 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical questions concerning
this final rule, contact David Rickard, Office of Financial Controls,
Financial Analysis Division (AFC 300), Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202)
493-5480; e-mail to david.rickard@FAA.gov.
For legal questions concerning this final rule contact Michael
Chase, AGC-240, Office of Chief Counsel, Regulations Division, Federal
Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20591; telephone: (202) 267-3110; e-mail to michael.chase@faa.gov.
Google to Appeal Street View Ruling in Switzerland
July 20, 2011 at 7:44 am | Posted in Remote Sensing Law Current Events | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: Voice of America
Internet search giant Google says it will lodge an appeal with Switzerland’s highest court after a lower court ruled the company’s Street View service must obscure all of the faces and auto license plates before making its pictures available. [more]
KARI becomes newest member of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters
July 19, 2011 at 9:56 am | Posted in Remote Sensing Law Current Events | Leave a commentby Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty
Source: redOrbit
South Korea’s space agency has joined its international counterparts in putting satellite data at the disposal of rescue authorities following major disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, formally became the newest member of the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ on 7 July.
Founded by ESA and the French space agency, CNES, the Charter is an international collaboration between the owners and operators of Earth observation missions to provide rapid access to satellite data to help disaster management authorities in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. [Full story]
Space & Aviation Cooperation in U.S. India Strtegic Dialogue
July 19, 2011 at 9:41 am | Posted in Aviation Law, Space Law | Leave a commentby P.J. Blount with the the blog faculty
The State Department has released a series of Fact Sheets relating to the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue. Space Cooperation appears in the Fact Sheet on U.S.-India Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation:
U.S.-India Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 19, 2011 . . .. . . Space
Indian Space Research Organization: The United States and India are committed to building closer ties in space exploration, space science and earth observation. Both countries are dedicated to using their space programs to expand the frontiers of scientific knowledge and produce tangible benefits for their populations. The removal of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and subordinate agencies from the Entities List in February 2011marked a significant step in eliminating remaining barriers to greater cooperation in space exploration and research.
Civil Space Working Group: By exchanging and utilizing satellite-based scientific data about the Earth, its climate, weather, and geophysical features, the United States and India are working together to share information on tropical weather, monsoon forecasting and climate change. At the July 13-14 Civil Space Working Group, the two countries took steps towards their cooperation in this area by concluding substantive discussion on Oceansat-II and Megha-Tropiques missions, which will help the countries refine scientific models and improve understanding of global weather patterns.
And Aviation Cooperation appears in the fact sheet on Prosperity:
Prosperity
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 19, 2011 . . .. . . Aviation Cooperation: The two governments signed a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) on July 18. The BASA advances aviation safety and promotes regulatory efficiencies by creating a framework for cooperation between the FAA and India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This BASA with India, a rapidly growing aviation market, reflects the United States and India’s mutual commitment to the development of a safe and secure global transportation infrastructure.
Under our ongoing U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Airports Authority of India announced their commitment to a Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) pilot satellite navigation project at Chennai International Airport. Through the ACP, USTDA will host the third U.S.-India Aviation Partnership Summit in New Delhi in November 2011.
GAO: B-404986, Birdstrike Control Program, July 15, 2011
July 19, 2011 at 9:34 am | Posted in Aviation Law | Leave a commentby P.J. Blount with the blog faculty
The GAO has released a bid protest decision in B-404986, Birdstrike Control Program, July 15, 2011 (PDF). The decision states:
Birdstrike Control Program, of Willis, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Flyaway Farm and Kennels, of Reidsville, North Carolina, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA2860-11-T-0013, issued by the Department of the Air Force for bird/wildlife aircraft strike hazard services at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility (NAF) in Maryland.
We deny the protest.
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