Data / Federal rules / 2026-06865
Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff
The Federal Communications Commission published this proposed rule in the Federal Register on April 9, 2026. Comments closed on May 11, 2026.
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What the agency says
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or we) looks to bring spectrum abundance for emergent space activities. "Emergent" or "emergent space operations" are those spacecraft or commercial operations in space that use radio spectrum for control of, or communications with, a spacecraft, but which are not communications satellites. Currently there is an acute shortage of usable and readily accessible spectrum for telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) functions that are essential for operating emergent spacecraft. Accordingly, this document seeks to clarify and expand the Commission's traditional regulatory classifications so that emergent space operations have more predictable access to spectrum. Additionally, this document proposes to add a secondary allocation for the Space Operation Service (SOS) in spectrum bands that could support emergent space activities, particularly in frequency bands allocated for non-Federal use that may be lightly used in certain geographic areas. This document also proposes to allow existing licensees to lease their spectrum to earth station licensees to provide SOS in connection with emergent spacecraft.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-06865
- Type
- Proposed rule
- Action
- Proposed rule
- Agency
- Federal Communications Commission
- Published
- April 9, 2026
- Comments due
- May 11, 2026
- Dates
- Comments are due on or before May 11, 2026. Reply Comments are due on or before June 8, 2026.
- Docket
- SB Docket No. 26-54; FCC 26-13; FR ID 338749
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 47 CFR 2; 47 CFR 25
- Pages
- 18
Other documents from the Federal Communications Commission
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Enhancing the Ability of Consumers To Control the Robocalls 2026-21821 | Final rule | Oct 26 |
| Modernizing the Ability of Consumers To Control Robocalls 2026-21820 | Proposed rule | Oct 26 |
| Space Modernization for the 21st Century 2026-21818 | Proposed rule | Oct 26 |
| Petition for Reconsideration of Action in Rulemaking Proceeding 2026-21810 | Proposed rule | Oct 26 |
| Closed Captioning of Video Programming 2026-21808 | Final rule | Oct 26 |
| Modernizing the Commission's National Environmental Policy Act Rules 2026-21347 | Proposed rule | Oct 19 |
| Upper C-Band (3.98-4.2 GHz); Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band 2026-21324 | Final rule | Oct 19 |
| Petition for Reconsideration of Action in Rulemaking Proceeding; Correction 2026-21312 | Proposed rule | Oct 19 |
Everything from the Federal Communications Commission · Published in April 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-24. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.