REMARKS OF
CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
SPACE INNOVATION AND THE FCC
WASHINGTON D.C.
NOVEMBER 3, 2022

	Good morning.  Let me start with a thank you to the Satellite Industry Association for this opportunity to address you today.  A special thank you also goes to Tom Stroup for his effort to gather us here and for his leadership.  

	Now I want to admit something.  It is not easy to keep up with the meteoric rise of the space industry.  It feels like there is a new story about a new first in space every other week.   

	There are the stories that inspire, like NASA’s Artemis 1 mission.  Less than two weeks from today NASA will try again to kick off a 25-day, 1.3-million-mile journey into the void of space, a voyage that is a testament to both human ingenuity and tenacity.  It will be the first big test of the rocket that will someday land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.  But this mission is about so much more than recreating Neil Armstrong’s iconic first step with a new cast of characters.  Because this time when we go back, we have plans to stay.  

	There are the stories that humble, like the James Webb Space Telescope.  Since its launch at the end of last year, the James Webb Telescope has sent back images that stretch our imagination because they ask us to consider worlds that exist far beyond our solar system.  These are images of the birth and death of stars, the collision of galaxies, and the atmospheres of exoplanets.  If you have not seen it yet, just pull up the stunningly beautiful “Pillars of Creation” right now—and don’t worry, I won’t take it personally if you are on your phone.  It is an image that is just awe-inspiring.  

	Of course, there are also the cautionary tales, like the stray rocket debris that crashed into the moon at 5,800 miles per hour earlier this year, leaving a new crater on the surface of the moon.  Or the commitment the United States made this year to become the first country to adopt a voluntary moratorium on the destructive testing of direct-ascent anti-satellite missile systems that put in danger so much of what we do in space.

	But the truth is these stories barely scratch the surface of everything that is happening in our skies.  Any way you look at it, the space sector has been on a monumental run.  Satellite operators set a new record last year for the number of satellites launched into orbit—a record that they will surpass again this year.  Three companies flew their first tourist-focused missions into space.  NASA successfully landed its rover on Mars in partnership with the private sector.  New startups have announced plans to bring Wi-Fi to the moon.  And it all adds up, because private investment in space companies reached more than $10 billion last year—the highest it has ever been.  

	It is important to note that the space industry is helping address some of our biggest problems here on Earth, too.  In the United States, satellite service was critical in the aftermath of disasters like Hurricane Ida and in fighting wildfires out west.  It also has provided crucial support to the Ukrainian government and humanitarian organizations half a world away. 

	So I will say it again: It is not easy to keep up with all of these stories and all of this activity.  They demonstrate very clearly that a new space age is here.  Unlike the first space age, this one is not limited to the prowess of our political superpowers.  We are seeing new commercial models, new players, and new technologies coming together to pioneer a wide range of new satellites services and space-based activities.  It is undeniably exciting.  

	But if we want to lead in this new space age, we have to start thinking about how to build on this success and prepare for what comes next.  That is what I would like to talk about today.

	To start, I want to say that the Federal Communications Commission has long had a role supporting a healthy satellite industry.  In fact, this history goes all the way back to 1962 and the launch of the very first communications satellite into orbit.  The satellite was called Telstar 1 and we celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this year.  It turns out Telstar 1 was a precursor of so much more to come—not just because it ushered in a new era of connectivity, but because it was also the world’s first privately sponsored space-faring mission.

	I am proud to say that the Telstar 1 launch was initiated by the FCC under the leadership of one of my predecessors, Newton Minow—who I must add is still going strong at age 96.  Speaking about Telstar 1, Chairman Minow famously told President Kennedy that “communications satellites will be much more important than sending man into space, because they will send ideas into space.  Ideas last longer than men.”

	I believe it.  And I think time has proved him right.  Chairman Minow saw the future, and he got ahead of it.  Telstar 1 reminds us that the United States is the place where we look to the skies, dream big, and make it happen.  It reminds us that the FCC had big dreams for America’s first space age.  And we have big dreams now for America’s second space age.

In fact, the next-generation space age that is unfolding before us is once again being fueled in a big way by communications—and this time that means satellite broadband internet access.  Just look at the numbers.  Ninety-eight percent of all satellite launches in 2021 were deployed into low-earth orbit to provide internet connectivity back here on Earth.  They can help advance the FCC’s goals to connect everyone, everywhere.  More than that, the success of these low-earth orbit communications satellites could be seen as an early litmus test for the broader commercialization of space.  In other words, our success matters.  

	Now I will say it for a third and final time: It is not easy to keep up with all this space activity.  But it is easy to see how here on the ground, the regulatory frameworks we rely on to shape space and satellite policy were largely built for another era.  They were designed for a time when going to space was astronomically expensive.  No one imagined commercial space tourism taking hold; no one believed crowd-funded satellites and mega constellations in low-Earth orbit were possible; and no one could have conceived of the sheer popularity of space entrepreneurship.  

	But it is all happening.  Today the FCC has before it applications for 64,000 new satellites.  64,000.  But it is not just satellites.  Last year we also saw an eight-fold increase in the number of applications for fixed satellite service gateway earth stations filed at the agency.  On top of that, we are seeing new applications for novel space activities like lunar landers, space tugs that can deploy other satellites, and space antenna farms that can relay communications.

I believe that when we see great change at the FCC, we need to renew and reinforce our commitment to serving the public interest.  That includes re-examining how we organize within the agency to ensure that the FCC can meet the needs of the 21st century.  

In fact, I think the FCC needs some remodeling.  The new space age has turned everything we know about how to deliver critical space-based services on its head.  The way constellations are designed, satellites are manufactured, launches are organized, and even how systems are upgraded or replaced are all being re-designed and re-imagined.  But the organizational structures at the agency have not kept pace as the applications and proceedings before us have multiplied.  And you cannot just keep doing things the old way and expect to lead in the new.  

	So today I am announcing a plan to fix that.  I am proud to announce I will be launching an effort to create a new Space Bureau at the FCC.  This re-imagined bureau will support United States leadership in the emerging space economy, promote long-term technical capacity to address satellite policies, and improve our coordination with other agencies on these issues.  

	At the same time, I am creating a new standalone Office of International Affairs.  I do so recognizing that our world is more crowded, more complicated, and more competitive than at any point in recent history, and we need to position ourselves to better navigate the complicated currents of 21st century communications.  And make no mistake—change is coming on this front too.  For the first time in decades, the United States candidate, Doreen Bogdan Martin, will lead the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union.  This also marks the first time in the ITU’s 157-year history that a woman will serve as its Secretary General.  She will do so with the full support of the United States government and the FCC.

	I know change can be daunting.  But it can also be a great opportunity.  The FCC’s International Bureau has traditionally combined these two functions and it has served with distinction.  But now is the time to reorganize it to better match marketplace realities.  This reorganization will help ensure that both the new Space Bureau and the Office of International Affairs stay relevant, efficient, and effective over time—and that is what this effort is about.  

	Two final thoughts.  First, I have spent a lot of time today talking about positioning the United States to lead in the new space age and how the FCC can help.  But the truth is it takes a village.  There are a lot of federal agencies that have an important part to play in the new space economy.  They include NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Energy, just to name a few.  We will need a coordinated, collaborative, and whole-of-government effort if we are going to be successful.  The changes I am announcing today are not about taking on new responsibilities at the FCC.  They are about performing our existing statutory responsibilities better and freeing up resources to focus on our mission.

	Second, reorganization is just one tool among many that we are using to drive transformational change in the satellite sector.  Across the board we are working to update our rules, bulk up our ranks at the FCC, and speed up the satellite licensing process.  We are also making more spectrum available to fuel our space ambitions.  And we are taking action to care for our skies so that the space economy can support our grandest ambitions.

So stay tuned, because there is more to come.  In fact, I think our activities in space are going to change even more in the coming years than they have in the past sixty.  I am looking forward to the FCC and the new Space Bureau being a big part of it.  Thank you.