Small Satellite Boom Poses Challenges for Regulators

Small Satellite Boom Poses Challenges for Regulators

Updated January 7, 2020
Small Satellite Boom Poses Challenges for Regulators
Regulators and policymakers are struggling to keep pace
development. National security applications have helped
with small satellites, spacecraft the size of shoe boxes that
secure U.S. government funding for many smallsat design
are displacing school bus-sized satellites for many
and manufacturing companies, which has enabled them to
purposes. “Smallsats,” as they are known, occupy low Earth
establish themselves financially and demonstrate their
orbit (LEO) at an altitude of between about 310 and 1,200
products while seeking to develop business with potential
miles above Earth’s surface. Many currently in orbit are
commercial customers.
about 10 centimeters wide and weigh less than 3 pounds.
They have been used in government operations, but
The ISS has been an important test bed for development of
commercial companies are increasingly building and
smallsats, especially “cubesats.” Cubesats measure a
deploying them for communications, broadband internet,
standard 4 inches on each side and are modular for easy
remote sensing, and Earth observation missions.
scalability depending on mission. Companies began
sending prototype commercial cubesat constellations to the
Smallsats are launched in clusters called constellations that
ISS in 2012. Test cubesats can rideshare to the ISS aboard
provide coverage and connectivity to greater areas of Earth
resupply missions for a fraction of the cost of an individual
than a single satellite can. The 328 smallsats launched in
rocket launch. From there, robotic arms and special
2018—twice the average number launched annually from
equipment aboard the ISS can eject the satellites into orbit.
2013 to 2017—accounted for 69% of all satellites launched
Between 2013 and 2017, the ISS deployed 725 cubesats,
that year. Some market forecasts project that by 2030, the
allowing many smallsat manufacturers to demonstrate their
number of smallsats in orbit will multiply exponentially.
on-orbit capabilities to investors and providing an income
This trend is largely attributable to advances in
stream for launch operators.
microelectronics, shorter development and manufacturing
cycles, and lower launch costs. Federal and international
Figure 1. Cubesat Built from Smartphone Parts
regulators have received applications to launch commercial
smallsats to LEO by the thousands over the next five years.
With more than 1,300 satellites already orbiting there,
including the International Space Station (ISS) with humans
onboard, congestion is growing, creating potential problems
with orbital debris, collision avoidance, and allocation of
limited radio frequencies needed for command and control.
Market for Miniaturization
The first satellite launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union—
Sputnik—weighed less than 200 pounds, which would
qualify it as a smallsat as defined by the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its
Source: NASA, Ames Research Center.
functions, however, were limited to rudimentary radio
transmissions. Most satellites launched in recent decades
Crowded Space
provide communications transmissions and are far larger.
Greater use of smallsats may create communications
For example, many communications satellites operated by
problems and increase the risk of collisions in space.
Intelsat weigh almost 14,000 pounds and are more than 100
feet long. These satellites typically cost several million
In October 2019, the Federal Communications Commission
dollars each to build and even more to launch, both because
(FCC) requested the International Telecommunications
of their size and the need to put them into higher orbits.
Union, the international organization that coordinates
Many smallsats cost a few thousand dollars and can
global radio frequency use, to approve spectrum for 30,000
rideshare on a rocket with other satellites.
satellites on behalf of Starlink, a program of Space
Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). SpaceX has already
During the past 10 years, miniaturization of electronics,
received a license to operate a constellation of 12,000
optics, and sensors has made much smaller satellites
Starlink satellites in LEO to provide internet services. From
technically feasible, stimulating venture capital and defense
the time of the October filing, SpaceX has seven years to
industry investments in smallsat companies to meet
demonstrate its ability to operate a satellite at the requested
growing demand for data processing, global connectivity,
frequency before obtaining rights to the spectrum. It has
and remote sensing services used for imagery and weather
launched 180 smallsats so far and plans to launch hundreds
analysis. In 2018, Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin
more in 2020. Amazon is planning a constellation in LEO
all invested in U.S. startups focused on smallsat
with more than 3,000 smallsats for high-speed internet
service. United Kingdom-based OneWeb is planning a
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Small Satellite Boom Poses Challenges for Regulators
constellation of at least 650 smallsats in LEO, and China
FCC denied the application, because it deemed the satellites
Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is planning
too small to be tracked. The satellites were launched
a 320-satellite constellation there by 2025, both for internet
anyway. Swarm used a launch brokering company, which
service. Thousands of new satellites in LEO could overtax
claimed not to know about the ruling, to book its payload
the frequencies allocated for operators to communicate with
on a rocket launched by the commercial arm of India’s
their satellites and could interfere with transmissions from
space agency, which is not subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The
higher orbit communications and weather satellites. The
FCC fined Swarm $900,000 for the violation.
FCC is considering new spectrum-sharing regulations and
repurposing of certain frequency bands to accommodate
Even when companies follow rules, mistakes can happen.
these new users.
In September 2019, orbital data from the U.S. Air Force
indicated a European satellite and one of SpaceX’s Starlink
Smallsat operators typically plan for their constellations to
smallsats could be on a collision course. As the odds of a
remain in orbit for three to six years, replacing older
collision rose to 10 times higher than the threshold for an
satellites with newer ones over time. According to NASA,
avoidance maneuver, the European Space Agency (ESA)
spacecraft orbiting 350 to 430 miles above Earth, where
repeatedly tried to contact SpaceX without success. ESA
many smallsats have been approved to operate, could stay
quickly boosted its satellite 300 meters out of the collision
in orbit for 25 years, while spacecraft orbiting closer to
path. According to SpaceX, the company failed to note
Earth near the ISS may fall out of orbit and burn up within
ESA’s messages due to faulty computer software.
as little as six months due to atmospheric drag. For
example, Planet Labs, Inc., a smallsat operator, says that of
Regulatory Developments
its 351 smallsats successfully launched to LEO since 2012,
In 1967, all countries that had active space programs, and
about 140 remain in orbit; the rest have already burned up.
many that aspired to, signed a United Nations treaty
However, as companies plan to launch smallsat
establishing standards and norms of international space law.
constellations by the thousands over the next 10 years,
A global gentleman’s agreement for space-based activities,
collision risk avoidance may become a bigger challenge,
the treaty requires that a state must authorize and supervise
especially due to mounting space debris.
any activities carried out by its nongovernmental entities
and that any objects launched into space must be registered.
Some new smallsats are equipped with automated collision
The U.N. also issued debris mitigation guidelines
avoidance systems that are programed to track and avoid
recommending objects in LEO deorbit within 25 years.
other satellites or debris. However, this technology has not
been extensively tested on orbit. Most satellite operators
Within the United States, oversight of civilian satellite
still perform these maneuvers manually after analyzing
activities is in flux. Space Policy Directive-3 (SPD-3),
collision probability data. Either way, smallsats changing
signed by the President in 2018, mandated an interagency
location may interfere with other satellites’ communication
effort led by NASA to draft a whole-of-government plan
or may inadvertently encounter debris that is too small to be
for space situational awareness and debris mitigation. SPD-
reliably tracked, potentially causing them to collide with
3 also proposed the Department of Commerce’s Office of
other satellites.
Space Commerce take over commercial space traffic
management from the U.S. military. The Office of Space
Figure 2.NASA Rendering of Orbital Debris Growth
Commerce currently resides within the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but the
Secretary of Commerce proposed in 2018 to designate it an
independent bureau within the department. A bill that
would approve such a bureau and assign it responsibility for
regulatory activities not overseen by the FCC, NOAA, or
the Federal Aviation Administration was introduced in the
115th Congress (H.R. 2809) and again in the 116th Congress
(H.R. 3610), but did not advance. A September 2019 Senate
Appropriations Committee report (S.Rept. 116-127)
expressed concern that an independent space commerce
bureau might not be equipped to fully replace the military
in providing commercial space traffic management. The
committee recommended an independent review by the
National Academy of Public Administration.

To address gaps in current space governance, an alliance of
Source: NASA, Orbital Debris Program Office 2018.
commercial, government, and industry stakeholders formed
the Space Safety Coalition in 2019 to develop best practices
Enforcement Challenges
for avoiding on-orbit collisions and frequency interference.
Certain rules govern how a company should operate its
This effort to self-regulate has been endorsed by many
satellites, but the ability of U.S. regulators to enforce their
smallsat companies.
rules on a global scale is limited. For example, Silicon
Valley start-up Swarm Technologies, which makes
Alyssa K. King, Analyst in Transportation Policy
smallsats that provide internet access, filed an application
with the FCC in 2018 to launch four cubesats to LEO. The
IF11382
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Small Satellite Boom Poses Challenges for Regulators

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11382 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED