Federal Communications Commission	FCC 26-47

STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR

Re: 	Space Modernization for the 21st Century, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, SB Docket No. 25-306, (July 22, 2026)

Less than a year ago I had the opportunity to visit El Segundo, the Aerospace Capital of the World.  I saw firsthand how American space innovators are building satellite buses, manufacturing new chemicals unencumbered by gravity, pioneering neutral-host ground stations, and improving in-space service, assembly, and manufacturing. 

Walking the factory floors, watching America reindustrialize before my eyes, witnessing the explosion of hard tech—it all served as a powerful reminder that we are in a golden age of space innovation.  It’s why boosting America’s space economy is a central pillar of the Build America agenda.  To build the orbital infrastructure of tomorrow, the FCC must do its part to ensure that the United States is the best place to launch, operate, and license.  

Today’s space industry needs a regulatory framework with speed and simplicity—one that allows companies to operate at the scale of hundreds of thousands of satellites, data centers, transport vehicles, and rockets.  With today’s decision, we make good on that promise.  We are voting today to replace the cumbersome rules of the past with a new part 100 that creates a licensing “assembly line.” 

Our modernization journey has unfolded in two phases.  Out of the gate, the Space Bureau relentlessly focused on operational excellence.  Over the last 18 months, we approved a laundry list of deals that will inject new investment and energy into the space economy, especially on D2D.  At the same time, we granted licenses for industry-shaping constellations that will prove pivotal to American space superiority.  We also moved much faster to reduce our processing times, cutting the backlog of FCC approvals by half.  But that’s not enough.  To get where we need to be requires a fundamental overhaul of our processes, not just better execution.  Our legacy part 25 rules were not suited for the long term.    

So, today we are doing something unprecedented—we are scrapping our rules in their entirety and replacing them with better ones.  This kind of ambition shouldn’t be taken for granted.  Regulators tend to tinker around the edges; they don’t throw away the rulebook and rewrite it from scratch.  They take years and decades to reform, not 18 months.  The Space Bureau landed the rare trifecta, all while pushing through other game-changing reforms on spectrum sharing and spectrum abundance.  

There’s so much to like in the new part 100 rules.  For one, speed and predictability are built into the DNA.  The new rules establish bright lines and eliminate fuzzy standards.  They keep licensing focused on the FCC’s core statutory responsibilities—spectrum management, harmful interference, national security, and orbital debris.  They eliminate guessing games and hidden requirements.  While most applications will breeze through a fast lane, the new rules outline the limited situations when more targeted review is needed.  And if an application falls within the four corners of the new part 100, it is presumed to serve the public interest.  That’s not just me making promises—the rules say this with refreshing clarity.  The quality and predictability of our decisions will improve greatly as a result.  

We are also allowing more flexibility to move past historical assumptions that have shackled unforeseen innovations.  For example, part 100 will allow for multiple satellites to collocate at a single orbital slot.  Emerging spacecraft like transfer vehicles and commercial lunar vehicles will get streamlined treatment.  And that’s just a taste—this 300-page decision is chock full of vibrant and innovative ideas that draw from the Space Bureau’s years of experience and the best feedback the public had to offer.    

When we launched Build America, I said that we would think about things from first principles.  Here at the FCC, we are pursuing the best way to get something done, not blindly following what’s been done before.  If the right answer requires us to change the way we do business, that’s what we will do.  With the creation of part 100 and the licensing assembly line, we are staying true to that mindset and making sure the United States remains the greatest place in the world to build and operate a space business. 

For their work on this generational item, I thank the entire Space Bureau, particularly Greg Coutros, Clay DeCell, Gabrial Gersten, Carolyn Mahoney, Stephanie Neville, Brandon Padgett, Sankar Persaud, Jeanine Poltronieri, Jay Schwarz, and Delaney Wood.