Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER OLIVIA TRUSTY

Re: 	Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, SB Docket No. 26-54 (March 26, 2026).

Seventeen years ago in March 2009, NASA launched the Kepler space telescope to survey our region of the Milky Way for Earth-sized, potentially habitable planets.  Over the course of its mission, the telescope observed more than 530,000 stars, identified over 2,600 new planets, and revealed possibilities for human existence beyond Earth that ground-based telescopes simply could not detect.  
Today, much like Kepler once did, a new generation of “emergent space operations” is pushing the boundaries of what is possible beyond our atmosphere.
With the release of the “Weird Space Stuff” NPRM, the Commission takes a holistic view of the evolving space economy, focusing on commercial operations that do not provide radiocommunications services directly to the public, but nonetheless depend on spectrum for critical telemetry, tracking, and command to control spacecraft.  
Unlike federal missions such as Kepler, however, these emergent operators cannot rely on federal spectrum for TT&C.  And, they often face significant regulatory hurdles when attempting to use commercial spectrum—case-by-case reviews, extensive coordination requirements, and resulting delays.  Yet, despite these hurdles, the scope of these activities continues to expand, ranging from in-space manufacturing and orbital laboratories to private robotic lunar missions and efforts to make space more accessible to humans.  
Today’s item rightly seeks comment on how to address these challenges, including by leveraging existing spectrum allocations, such as Fixed Satellite Service bands, for standalone TT&C, and by exploring market-based mechanisms that could enable access to underutilized spectrum held by incumbent licensees.  Importantly, this approach aims to expand opportunities for emergent space operators without requiring existing users to compromise their services. 
This NPRM represents another step in the Commission’s ongoing effort to modernize its rules to unlock the full potential of the commercial space economy and reinforce U.S. leadership in this domain.   Moreover, the proposals in this item will also help advance broader national interests, including economic competitiveness, national security, and the continued expansion of human discovery.  
I look forward to the continued work ahead between the public and private sector to position the United States as the global leader in space policy and innovation.  I thank the Space Bureau for its thoughtful and creative work on this item. 



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