On November 3rd, Aerospace News reported that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States has approved Boeing's application to develop and operate 147 non geosynchronous orbit (NGSO) broadband satellites.

Boeing applied for a license for a constellation using high-frequency V-band spectrum nearly 5 years ago, during a wave of NGSO applications from companies such as Space Exploration Corporation and First Net. Boeing was the latest company in the wave of NGSO applications to receive approval. According to regulatory rules, Boeing has 6 years from now to launch half of its satellites, and the remaining part must be deployed within 9 years.

Boeing's plan includes sending 132 satellites to a low Earth orbit of 1056 kilometers and sending the remaining satellites into orbits with altitudes between 27355 kilometers and 44221 kilometers to provide global services to residential, commercial, institutional, government, and corporate customers.

Although Boeing is more well-known in the construction of large geostationary orbit satellites, it acquired Millennium Space Systems, a specialized manufacturer of small satellites, in 2018 to enhance its professional strength in the expanding NGSO market. A Boeing official said via email, 'Boeing believes that the future of satellite technology lies in multiple orbits simultaneously.'; With the increasing demand for satellite communication, orbit systems and frequencies need to be diversified to meet unique customer needs, and we believe that the V-band will help bring some diversification. While the application is still under FCC review, we have not stopped searching for convincing use cases for the V-band and maturing the underlying technology involved.

The V-band frequency is higher than the Ka band and Ku band spectra used by SpaceX's Starlink. Space Exploration Corporation is currently the largest NGSO broadband operator, with no less than 1600 satellites deployed in low Earth orbit. Using higher frequencies is expected to improve broadband service speed. However, it also poses interference risks and may affect the transmission quality of the V-band due to rain attenuation.

Ryan Reid, the head of Boeing's commercial satellite program, told Space News in September that while waiting for FCC approval, Boeing is still looking for partners for its constellation project.

The FCC's approval not only allows Boeing to conduct fixed satellite services in certain spectral bands of the V-band, but also allows the company to use inter satellite links on specific V-band spectra. However, the FCC did not agree to Boeing's request to use inter satellite links in the Ka band and other parts of the V-band, in order to address concerns it had learned during the application process. The space exploration company warned in 2019 that the constellation proposed by Boeing posed a risk of harmful interference to other giant constellations.

Source: Hang Xiaoyu