S. 1962

119 S1962 IS: Secure Space Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-06-05
 text/xml
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 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
  II
  119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
  S. 1962
  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
  June 5, 2025
  Mrs. Fischer  (for herself and  Mr. Luján ) introduced the following bill; which was
  read twice and referred to the  Committee on
  Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  A BILL
To amend the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 to
  prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from granting a license or United States
  market access for a geostationary orbit satellite system or a nongeostationary orbit
  satellite system, or an authorization to use an individually licensed earth station or a
  blanket-licensed earth station, if the license, grant of market access, or authorization
  would be held or controlled by an entity that produces or provides any covered
  communications equipment or service or an affiliate of such an entity, and for other
  purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Secure Space Act of 2025  .
2.
Prohibition on grant of certain satellite licenses, United States market access,
  or earth station authorizations
(a)
In general
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 ( 47 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating sections 10 and 11 as sections 11 and 12, respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after section 9 the following:
10.
Prohibition on grant of certain satellite licenses, United States market access, or earth station authorizations
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Affiliate
(A)
In
  general
The term  affiliate  means an entity that (directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, another entity.
(B)
Own
For purposes of this paragraph, the term  own  means to have, possess, or otherwise control an equity interest (or the equivalent thereof) of not less than 10 percent.
(2)
Blanket-licensed earth station
The term  blanket-licensed earth station  means an earth station that is licensed with a geostationary orbit satellite system or a nongeostationary orbit satellite system.
(3)
Gateway station
The term  gateway station  means an earth station or a group of earth stations that—
(A)
supports the routing and switching functions of a geostationary orbit satellite system or a nongeostationary orbit satellite system;
(B)
may also be used for telemetry, tracking, and command transmissions;
(C)
does not originate or terminate communication traffic; and
(D)
is not for the exclusive use of any customer.
(4)
Individually licensed earth station
The term  individually licensed earth station  means—
(A)
an earth station (other than a blanket-licensed earth station) that sends a signal to, and receives a signal from, a geostationary orbit satellite system or a nongeostationary orbit satellite system; or
(B)
a gateway station.
(b)
Prohibition
The Commission may not grant a license for, or a petition for a declaratory ruling to access the United States market using, a geostationary orbit satellite system or a nongeostationary orbit satellite system, or an authorization to use an individually licensed earth station or a blanket-licensed earth station, if the license, grant of market access, or authorization would be held or controlled by—
(1)
an entity that produces or provides any covered communications equipment or service; or
(2)
an affiliate of an entity described in paragraph (1).
  .
(b)
Applicability
Section 10 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to the grant of a license, petition, or authorization on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c)
Rules
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall issue rules to implement section 10 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, as added by subsection (a).