El Al Israel Airlines is using ViaSat in-flight Wi-Fi on its trans-Atlantic flights, the satellite operator said Tuesday.

The expected small satellite boom will stress different parts of the satellite infrastructure ecosystem, a Northern Sky Research analyst blogged Tuesday. NSR said manufacturing hurdles related to finding sources of space-approved components and materials mean electronic systems and subsystems are likely to be "considerable bottlenecks," while the launch industry is similarly expected to be a big bottleneck for the next decade. It said given the increasing danger of collisions in space, "rigorous" international regulations are needed to cover everything from prelaunch notification and in-orbit maneuver tracking to right-of-way evaluation, end-of-life disposal and re-entry.

Comments on the FCC's orbital debris NPRM are due April 5, replies May 17, said a notice set for Tuesday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the notice at November's meeting (see 1811150028).

Satellite-provided Wi-Fi hot spots aimed at unconnected populations worldwide likely will generate $7.5 billion annual revenue for the satellite communications by 2027, with the industry increasingly able to target those customers because of better price-per-gigabyte competitiveness and increased focus on distribution channels, Northern Sky Research analyst Lluc Palerm-Serra blogged Tuesday. Hurdles like the income of those populations mean providers need to sometimes offer entry-level data packages with small allowances, he said: They might need to look at free access to some content, plus mobile banking and telemedicine services, to stimulate demand.

SES' AMC-10 satellite was built before current FCC orbital debris mitigation rules took effect in 2004, and its oxidizer tanks can't be vented in decommissioning, the company said in an International Bureau filing Tuesday seeking waiver of orbital debris mitigation requirements. It said the license term for the C-band satellite, at 135 degrees west, expires May 4. The company plans to begin moving it to a higher, graveyard orbit before then.

Investment in emerging space companies topped $17.8 billion 2000-18, with the past two years generating more than $7 billion, Northern Sky Research said Tuesday. The market for novel space applications and new players is a big investment opportunity, but it has big challenges given its capital spending-intensive nature, NSR said. It said more merger and acquisition activity will likely follow and some markets are showing signs of startup saturation.

The growing number of satellites in orbit and increasing orbital debris make tracking satellites, identifying threats, and predicting and preventing collisions more difficult, the Defense Intelligence Agency said Monday. DIA said the U.S. advantage in space, plus perceived dependence on it, will drive rivals including Russia, China, North Korea and Iran to improve their space capabilities, which could threaten commercial, military and civil space-based services.

Satellite interests are backing the FCC NPRM proposing to let earth stations in motion (ESIM) communicate with non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites operating in the fixed satellite service -- with caveats. EchoStar/Hughes in docket 18-315 comments posted Monday said ESIM operations in Ku- and Ka-bands on a secondary basis should be paired with interference protections of geostationary orbit (GSO) FSS operations via equivalent power-flux density limits and control of ESIM terminals by a network control center that can disable operations during harmful interference to GSO. It said the FCC should require ending or reducing ESIM emissions to prevent harmful interference. Kymeta said existing licensees holding blanket authority for ESIMs to communicate with GSO satellite systems should be allowed to file streamlined modification applications to add blanket authority to communicate with non-geostationary satellite systems in the relevant Ku- or Ka-band. The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Radio Frequencies said approvals of ESIM operations should be paired with protections for radio astronomy service in adjacent or overlapping bands. Replies are due March 13. Commissioners approved the NPRM in November (see 1811150028).

With an application for a non-geostationary orbit constellation of 150 satellites (see here) pending before the FCC International Bureau, Swarm Technologies CEO Sara Spangelo met Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O'Rielly and with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks about company plans, it said, including posted Monday in docket 18-313 (see here, here, here and here). Swarm's constellation would orbit at 400-550 kilometers and use VHF band frequencies to provide data services, the company said. The company previously received OK for some cubesats (see 1810040057) and was fined for unauthorized launch of others (see 1812210004).

Intelsat and Northrup Grumman subsidiary Space Logistics want FCC International Bureau OK for a satellite servicing mission that would have Intelsat 901 and MEV-1 docking and then redeploying. In bureau applications Thursday (see here and here), they asked for approval to raise Intelsat 901 -- currently at 29.5 degrees west -- 300 kilometers above geostationary arc, and then to redeploy with MEV-1 attached at 27.5 degrees west. Intelsat said Northrup's MEV-1 launch is set for the first half of this year. Northrup said that once the life-extension mission of the satellite is complete, the two would move to 150 kilometers above geostationary orbit and then unlock.