2021-20193. Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule; announcement of effective date.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collections associated with certain rules adopted in the Report and Order, Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

DATES:

The amendments to 47 CFR 5.64(b) and 97.207(g)(1), published at 85 FR 52422 on August 25, 2020, are effective October 20, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Merissa Velez, International Bureau, Satellite Division, at [phone]. For information regarding the PRA information collection requirements contained in the PRA, contact Cathy Williams, Office of Managing Director, at [phone] or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This document announces that OMB approved the information collection requirements in 47 CFR 5.64(b) and 97.207(g)(1), on July 21, 2021. These rules were modified in the Report and Order in IB Docket No. 18-313, FCC 20-54, Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, published at 85 FR 52422 on August 25, 2020. The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the compliance date of the rules. The Report and Order also modified rules in part 25 and there is a separate PRA information collection review for the part 25 rules. Rule amendments adopted in the Report and Order which did not require OMB approval became effective on September 24, 2020.

If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, please contact Cathy Williams at [e-mail] or Office of Managing Director, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control Number 3060-1013. Please include the applicable OMB Control Number(s) in your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via email at [e-mail].

To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to [e-mail] or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at [phone] (voice), [phone] (TTY).

Synopsis

As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received final OMB approval on July 21, 2021, for the information collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 5.64(b) and 97.207(g)(1). Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.

No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for the information collection requirements in these rules is 3060-1013.

The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.

The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents are as follows:

OMB Control Number: 3060-1013.

OMB Approval Date: July 21, 2021.

OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2024.

Title: Mitigation of Orbital Debris.

Form Number: N/A.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions.

Number of Respondents: 46 respondents; 46 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 310.

Total Annual Burden: 368 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $88,550.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general, there is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: On April 24, 2020, the Commission released a Report and Order in IB Docket No. 18-313, FCC 20-54, Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, (Orbital Debris Report and Order). In this Orbital Debris Report and Order, the Commission updated its rules related to orbital debris mitigation, including application requirements. The new rules are designed to ensure that the Commission's actions concerning radio communications, including licensing U.S. spacecraft and granting access to the U.S. market for non-U.S. spacecraft, mitigate the growth of orbital debris, while at the same time not creating undue regulatory obstacles to new satellite ventures. The action will help to ensure that Commission decisions are consistent with the public interest in space remaining viable for future satellites and systems and the many services that those systems provide to the public. The rule revisions also provide additional detail to applicants on what information is expected under the Commission's rules, which can help to increase certainty in the application filing process. While this information collection represents an overall increase in the burden hours, the information collection serves the public interest by ensuring that the Commission and public have necessary information about satellite applicants' plans for mitigation of orbital debris.

Specifically, FCC 20-54 contains the new or modified information collection requirements listed below, applicable to applicants seeking experimental licenses for satellite operations under part 5 of the Commission's rules, as well as to license grantees under part 97 submitting notifications to the Commission prior to launch of a satellite amateur station:

(1) Existing disclosure requirements have been revised to include specific metrics in several areas, including: Probability that the space stations will become a source of debris by collision with small debris and meteoroids that would cause loss of control and prevent disposal; probability of collision between any non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) space station and other large objects; and casualty risk associated with any individual spacecraft that will be disposed by atmospheric re-entry.

(2) Where relevant, the disclosures must include the following: Use of separate deployment devices, distinct from the space station launch vehicle, that may become a source of orbital debris; potential release of liquids that will persist in droplet form; and any planned proximity operations and debris generation that will or may result from the proposed operations, including any planned release of debris, the risk of accidental explosions, the risk of accidental collision, and measures taken to mitigate those risks.

(3) The existing disclosure requirement to analyze potential collision risk associated with space station(s) orbits has been modified to specify that the disclosure identify characteristics of the space station(s)' orbits that may present a collision risk, including any planned and/or operational space stations in those orbits, and indicate what steps, if any, have been taken to coordinate with the other spacecraft or system, or what other measures the operator plans to use to avoid collision.

(4) For NGSO space stations that will transit through the orbits used by any inhabitable spacecraft, including the International Space Station, the disclosure must include the design and operational strategies, if any, that will be used to minimize the risk of collision and avoid posing any operational constraints to the inhabitable spacecraft.

(5) The disclosure must include a certification that upon receipt of a space situational awareness conjunction warning, the operator will review and take all possible steps to assess the collision risk, and will mitigate the collision risk if necessary. As appropriate, steps to assess and mitigate the collision risk should include, but are not limited to: Contacting the operator of any active spacecraft involved in such a warning; sharing ephemeris data and other appropriate operational information with any such operator; and modifying space station attitude and/or operations.

(6) For NGSO space stations the disclosure must describe the extent of satellite maneuverability.

(7) The disclosure must address trackability of the space station(s). For NGSO space stations the disclosure must also include: (a) How the operator plans to identify the space station(s) following deployment and whether the space station tracking will be active or passive; (b) whether, prior to deployment the space station(s) will be registered with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity; and (c) the extent to which the space station operator plans to share information regarding initial deployment, ephemeris, and/or planned maneuvers with the 18th Space Control Squadron or successor entity, other entities that engage in space situational awareness or space traffic management functions, and/or other operators.

(8) For NGSO space stations, additional disclosures must be provided regarding spacecraft disposal, including, for some space stations, a demonstration that the probability of success of the chosen disposal method is 0.9 or greater for any individual space station, and for multi-satellite systems, a demonstration including additional information regarding efforts to achieve a higher probability of success.

These information collection requirements are contained in 47 CFR 5.64 and 97.207.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.