§  25.210   Technical requirements for space stations.

   (a) All space stations in the Fixed-Satellite Service used for domestic
   service in the 3700-4200 MHz and 5925-6425 MHz frequency bands shall:

   (1) Use orthogonal linear polarization with one of the planes defined
   by the equatorial plane;

   (2) Be designed so that the polarization sense of uplink transmissions
   is opposite to that of downlink transmissions on the same transponder;
   and

   (3) Shall be capable of switching polarization sense upon ground
   command.

   (b) All space stations in the Fixed-Satellite Service in the 20/30 GHz
   band shall use either orthogonal linear or orthogonal circular
   polarization. Those space stations utilizing orthogonal linear
   polarization shall also comply with paragraph (a) of this section.

   (c) All space stations in the Fixed-Satellite Service shall have a
   minimum capability to change transponder saturation flux densities by
   ground command in 4 dB steps over a range of 12 dB.

   (d)mdash;(e) [Reserved]

   (f) All space stations in the Fixed-Satellite Service operating in any
   portion of the 3600-4200 MHz, 5091-5250 MHz, 5850-7025 MHz, 10.7-12.7
   GHz, 12.75-13.25 GHz, 13.75-14.5 GHz, 15.43-15.63 GHz, 18.3-20.2 GHz,
   24.75-25.25 GHz, or 27.5-30.0 GHz bands, including feeder links for
   other space services, and in the Broadcasting-Satellite Service in the
   17.3-17.8 GHz band (space-to-Earth), shall employ state-of-the-art full
   frequency reuse, either through the use of orthogonal polarizations
   within the same beam and/or the use of spatially independent beams.

   (g)-(h) [Reserved]

   (i)(1) Space station antennas in the Fixed-Satellite Service, other
   than antennas in the 17/24 GHz BSS, must be designed to provide a
   cross-polarization isolation such that the ratio of the on axis
   co-polar gain to the cross-polar gain of the antenna in the assigned
   frequency band shall be at least 30 dB within its primary coverage
   area.

   (2) Space station antennas in the 17/24 GHz Broadcasting Satellite
   Service must be designed to provide a cross-polarization isolation such
   that the ratio of the on axis co-polar gain to the cross-polar gain of
   the antenna in the assigned frequency band shall be at least 25 dB
   within its primary coverage area.

   (j) Space stations operated in the geostationary satellite orbit must
   be maintained within 0.05DEG of their assigned orbital longitude in the
   east/west direction, unless specifically authorized by the Commission
   to operate with a different longitudinal tolerance, and except as
   provided in Section 25.283(b) (End-of-life Disposal).

   (k) Antenna measurements of both co-polarized and cross-polarized
   performance must be made on all antennas employed by space stations
   both within and outside the primary coverage area. The results of such
   measurements shall be submitted to the Commission within thirty days
   after preliminary in-orbit testing is completed.

   (l) All operators of space stations shall, on June 30 of each year,
   file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's
   Columbia Operations Center in Columbia, Maryland, containing the
   following information current as of May 31 of that year:

   (1) Status of satellite construction and anticipated launch dates,
   including any major problems or delays encountered;

   (2) A listing of any non-scheduled transponder outages for more than
   thirty minutes and the cause(s) of such outages;

   (3) A detailed description of the utilization made of each transponder
   on each of the in-orbit satellites. This description should identify
   the total capacity or the percentage of time each transponder is
   actually used for transmission, and the amount of unused system
   capacity in the transponder. This information is not required for those
   transponders that are sold on a non-common carrier basis. In that case,
   operators should indicate the number of transponders sold on each
   in-satellite orbit.

   (4) Identification of any transponders not available for service or
   otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause of these
   difficulties, and the date any transponder was taken out of service or
   the malfunction identified.

   [ 58 FR 13420 , Mar. 11, 1993, as amended at  61 FR 9952 , Mar. 12, 1996;
    62 FR 5931 , Feb. 10, 1997;  62 FR 61457 , Nov. 18, 1997;  68 FR 51508 ,
   Aug. 27, 2003;  69 FR 54587 , Sept. 9, 2004;  70 FR 32256 , June 2, 2005;
    72 FR 50029 , Aug. 29, 2007;  78 FR 8428 , Feb. 6, 2013]

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