STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR

Re:	Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, IB Docket No. 18-313.

It’s no secret that I have been skeptical of the FCC’s jurisdiction and expertise when it comes to orbital debris.  Analyzing collision risk, spacecraft maneuverability, ionic sodium-potassium droplets, tubular cylinder deployers and separation rings—these are not within the Commission’s core competencies, to the say the least.  Now, some may dismiss my concerns by saying that there are a lot of smart people at the FCC and this stuff is not rocket science.  Except it is.  It is literally rocket science we’re wading into.
Many stakeholders have echoed these concerns over the past few weeks.  And that is why I welcomed the chance to work with those stakeholders and my colleagues on edits that have greatly improved the document we vote on today.  I want to thank Commissioner Starks in particular for his willingness to collaborate on a series of important changes. 
The changes we proposed together align this item more closely with the positions held by expert agencies that have experience in aerospace engineering like NASA, NOAA, and the FAA.  As a result of our edits, the Commission now adopts our sister agencies’ large object collision and casualty risk standards; we now seek further comment on spacecraft maneuverability and indemnification requirements; and we now take a more cautious and balanced approach to our bond proposal.
With those substantial edits, I can now support the item.  So I want to thank the International Bureau for all its work on this decision, and I want to express my appreciation again to Commissioner Starks for his leadership on these issues.