Industry Committee Wants NOAA to Reconsider Satellite Regulation Updates

An industry advisory committee wants to make changes to NOAA’s proposal to revise regulations for commercial satellite imaging systems. The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing argued the agency’s plan may create new burdens for the industry, SpaceNews reported Tuesday. 

NOAA wants to streamline the process to provide licenses for satellite systems to address the growing number of applications. However, ACCRES raised concerns that some of the changes in the process could actually lead to challenges in securing approval. 

The committee held a meeting on Tuesday at the Department of Commerce to discuss NOAA’s proposal. Among the topics at the meeting was the agency’s idea to classify license applicants as either “low-risk” or “high-risk” prior to approval. 

ACCRES said that satellite makers may struggle to achieve a “low-risk” status as majority of commercial systems are high risk. The group also opposed restrictions and conditions for “non-Earth imaging,” which may significantly limit their services and delay responses to anomaly. 

ACCRES plans to conduct another meeting on July 11 to discuss recommended changes to NOAA’s proposal. The agency will accept public comment on the new regulations until July 15.