Boeing urged the FCC not to adopt a lower stationkeeping toleranc...
Boeing urged the FCC not to adopt a lower stationkeeping tolerance value for geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) mobile satellite service (MSS) satellites “because such a rule is unnecessary for the safe and effective operation of GSO MSS spacecraft and…
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will significantly increase the cost of operating GSO MSS satellites.” The company is among several expressing concern over the Commission’s pending action on orbital debris. Boeing said the proposed adoption of a 0.05 degrees longitudinal stationkeeping tolerance for MSS satellites -- rather than the existing 0.1 degrees tolerance -- could require 6 times as much onboard propellant and decrease the anticipated 12-year life of Boeing’s 2 GHz MSS spacecraft by 50%: “The severe negative impact of a 0.05 degrees… tolerance results from a combination of factors within the overall available longitude budget, including in particular the significant area-to-mass ratio of Boeing’s spacecraft and its use of a slightly inclined orbit.” Boeing said that although the Commission had adopted the lower tolerance value for GSO fixed satellite service (FSS) satellites, it “was adopted solely ‘for the purpose of avoiding harmful radio interference’ between FSS satellites,” an interference risk that didn’t exist for MSS birds. Separately, Inmarsat told the FCC that if it adopted changes for East-West and North-South stationkeeping, the changes shouldn’t apply to MSS satellites already in orbit or under construction. In a presentation, the company said the standard 2.4 degrees-3.4 degrees inclination in which its satellites operated would make it difficult to maintain the proposed 0.05 degrees tolerance “because of the significant increase in the number of required” maneuvers. It also would reduce the lives of 4 Inmarsat 2 satellites by 2.5 years each, Inmarsat said. As for a proposal to increase the de- orbit height to 300 km, instead of the existing 192 km, Inmarsat said each of its satellites would experience a 2-3 month reduction in its expected life. Meanwhile, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) plans to begin studying space debris, Xinhuanet reported. CNSA will launch 3 programs to monitor, prevent and curb the movement of waste left mostly by space research activities. Xinhuanet said the programs would be used between 2006 and 2020.