# The LAUNCHES Act: Making It Easier for Commercial Space Companies to Communicate

This bill is designed to speed up and simplify how commercial space companies get permission to use radio frequencies when they're launching rockets and bringing spacecraft back to Earth. Right now, companies like SpaceX or Blue Origin have to jump through a lot of hoops to get the radio spectrum they need to safely communicate during launches and landings. This bill tells the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cut through the red tape and make the process faster and more straightforward.

Here's what the bill actually does: It requires the FCC to finalize rules within 90 days that allow commercial space companies to use specific radio frequencies for their launches and reentries. These frequencies are already used by other things like military communications and weather systems, so the bill makes sure space companies can use them without interfering with those existing uses. The FCC also has to streamline the approval process within six months, which means companies won't have to apply separately for each individual launch. Instead, they can get one authorization that covers multiple launches from different locations, saving them time and paperwork.

The bill also requires better coordination between the FCC and other government agencies, particularly the Department of Defense, to make sure that approving space launches doesn't mess with military or national security communications. Essentially, this is about removing bureaucratic obstacles for the commercial space industry while still protecting important government operations. For everyday people, this could mean faster innovation in the space industry and potentially more affordable space services down the road, though the immediate impact is mostly behind-the-scenes regulatory change.

LAUNCHES Act

Soto, Darren

Leveraging American Understanding of Next-generation Challenges Exploring Space Act or the LAUNCHES Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to facilitate access to specified broadband spectrum frequencies for commercial space launches and reentries. Under current law, commercial missions launching from the United States to space must use government-owned spectrum to communicate with the rockets during launch, and private companies must apply to the FCC to receive special temporary authority to use such spectrum. On June 28, 2021, the FCC issued a final rule adopting a nonfederal secondary allocation of the 2200-2290 megahertz frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum for use during commercial space launches and reentries. The bill requires the FCC to adopt service rules for access to additional frequencies for commercial space launches and reentries and complete associated rulemaking activities (e.g., those that set technical specifications and eligibility requirements) to implement the allocation of the frequencies. The FCC must also streamline the process for access authorizations, providing for (1) authorizations to access specified frequencies for multiple commercial space launches and reentries from one or more launch or reentry sites, (2) authorizations for multiple uses of such frequencies for a commercial space launch or reentry, (3) automation of the FCC's review process for access applications, and (4) increased coordination between the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to speed the review of such applications.