In the first four articles of this series, we examined the Federal Communications Commission’s overhaul of its space licensing rules, including the Commission’s revised milestone and surety-bond requirements, new licensing framework, and reforms to the earth station licensing process. This fifth article examines another aspect of the Commission’s July 2026 Report and Order: the creation of a new licensing category for spacecraft that do not fit neatly within the traditional geostationary-orbit (GSO) or non-geostationary-orbit (NGSO) frameworks. For additional analysis of the FCC’s Space Modernization for the 21st Century Report and Order, see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.
The new Variable Trajectory Space Station (VTSS) category is designed to accommodate spacecraft whose orbital characteristics differ from those of conventional communications satellites. The creation of VTSS represents a shift in the Commission’s approach to space licensing. Rather than requiring novel space operators to fit their missions into regulatory categories developed principally for conventional communications satellites, Part 100 establishes a category intended to accommodate spacecraft with variable orbital profiles and missions that may extend across multiple orbital regimes. The framework provides a regulatory pathway for a range of emerging space activities while establishing requirements tailored to the operational and space-safety characteristics of those missions.
A New Regulatory Home for Novel Space Operations
Under Part 100, the FCC defines a Variable Trajectory Space Station system as:
“A system of one or more space stations either operating beyond the geosynchronous orbit or operating without fixed or predictable patterns over the course of its lifetime and operating under one space station call sign.”
VTSS systems may include, but are not limited to, space stations on orbital transfer vehicles, rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) platforms, in-space serving, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) systems, and missions involving transit to, orbiting of, or operations on the moon or other celestial bodies.
The definition focuses on the variable orbital characteristics of the spacecraft, rather than limiting the category to a particular technology or commercial activity. The Commission explained that it did not intend the examples provided in the R&O to be exhaustive, in part because future space missions may not fall within existing regulatory categories. At the same time, a space activity is not a VTSS merely because it is novel. The Commission emphasized that the defining characteristic is the spacecraft's variable orbital trajectory. A novel spacecraft operating in a fixed GSO or NGSO configuration may remain subject to the applicable GSO or NGSO framework.
A Licensing Framework Built Around an Operational Envelope
A central feature of the VTSS framework is the Commission's recognition that these missions cannot always be described through a single, fixed orbital configuration. A servicing spacecraft, orbital transfer vehicle, or other variable-trajectory system may change altitude, inclination, or orbital regime as its mission progresses. Part 100 therefore requires VTSS applicants to describe an operational envelope — the range of altitudes, inclinations, and other orbital parameters within which the spacecraft will operate. Applicants may also describe deployment parameters and mission phases using ranges where precise information is not yet available.
Under this framework, a licensee can conduct operations within its authorized range without seeking a license modification each time a spacecraft moves within that range. The Commission can evaluate the proposed operational envelope at the outset and authorize operations within those parameters. This approach also allows an operator to obtain authorization for the mission it reasonably expects to conduct without having to predict every future orbital state with the precision that may be possible for a conventional satellite constellation.
Tailoring the Framework to VTSS Missions
Part 100 tailors the licensing framework to the operational characteristics of VTSS systems. As discussed in our earlier article on Part 100’s revised milestone and surety-bond framework, VTSS licensees are not subject to the deployment milestones or surety-bond requirements applicable to certain NGSO systems. By default, the license term for VTSS space station will be 20 years, although applicants may request a shorter license term.
The Commission also adopted application and operational requirements addressing the particular characteristics and risks of variable-trajectory missions, including:
- Spacecraft identification and trackability. Applicants must provide information necessary to identify and track their spacecraft and certify compliance with applicable trackability requirements. VTSS satellites authorized to operate in Earth orbit must be larger than 10 cm in the smallest dimension.
- Space safety and collision avoidance. VTSS applicants must address collision-risk mitigation, human casualty risk, end-of-life passivation, and other space-safety considerations. Licensees must also register with an approved space situational awareness (SSA) provider and maintain current points of contact for collision-avoidance coordination.
- Ephemeris and covariance data. VTSS operators must provide and update specified ephemeris and covariance information to support space situational awareness and collision avoidance, particularly in connection with planned maneuvers and RPO operations.
- Rendezvous and proximity operations. Applicants proposing RPO must provide information concerning planned operations and the spacecraft with which they expect to interact, including applicable collision-risk mitigation and debris-generation considerations.
- Lunar and beyond-GEO operations. Applicants for missions extending beyond GSO must provide additional information regarding planned operations, including, where applicable, communications with instruments or rovers during transit or while operating on the moon or another celestial body. Where certain details are not known at the time of filing, the rules permit that information to be provided later, subject to specified timing requirements.
Taken together, these requirements combine operational flexibility afforded by the VTSS framework with ongoing information-sharing and coordination obligations. Rather than requiring operators to specify every future maneuver at the licensing stage, Part 100 allows operations within an approved envelope while requiring licensees to provide information necessary to manage collision and other space-safety risks as those operations occur.
Transition Considerations
Generally, the Commission will not convert Part 25 licensees to Part 100. Operators holding an existing Part 25 license who could be classified as a VTSS under Part 100 would not be allowed to convert their license. However, the R&O states that, where efficiency gains may be realized or where a “significant problem created by the transition” would be addressed, “the Space Bureau may choose to allow for situations whereby licensees who were licensed under part 25 may convert their licenses to part 100.”
Pending applications filed before or after adoption of the R&O but before the effective date of the Part 100 rules will be acted upon pursuant to the rules in effect at the time of action. Applications decided before the effective date will be reviewed under the existing Part 25 rules, while the Space Bureau will seek to apply the Part 100 review process to applications remaining pending after the effective date.
Closing the Separate ISAM Proceeding
The Commission also closed its separate ISAM proceeding, concluding that a standalone licensing framework was no longer necessary because Part 100 provides a pathway for ISAM missions meeting the VTSS definition. The Commission’s separate “Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff” proceeding addressing spectrum availability for emerging space operations – including communications and command-and-control functions – remains pending.