In article , says...

On 3/31/2018 11:01 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:
I was watching the SpaceX launch of 10 more Iridium satellites yesterday
and they cut the live feed near the end of the 2nd stage's first burn,
saying something about NOAA restrictions preventing them from continuing
the broadcast. I was like WTF?

As usual, Eric Berger came through with a story on this:

NOAA VIDEO FOR YOU ?
NOAA just prevented SpaceX from showing its rocket in orbit
"SpaceX will be intentionally ending live video coverage of the 2nd
stage."
ERIC BERGER - 3/30/2018, 12:52 PM
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018...-a-rocket-but-
noaa-prevented-some-of-it-from-being-shown/

NOAA's response:
http://www.noaa.gov/media-release/no...-broadcast-of-
spacex-iridium-5-launch


What's interesting to me is what if that GoPro camera is on the
satellite not the 2nd stage? Then seems like US restrictions might only
apply when the carriage is still over US airspace? How can NOAA enforce
regulations against foreign sat carriers that are already in orbit?
You'd get "good" pictures until that last sat was ejected.

They can only enforce US laws against US corporations. In other words,
any satellite owned and operated by a US company that has a camera on it
that takes a picture of earth must apply for the proper earth
observation permit.

Yes it's a US rocket being launched by a US corporation, but the
satellite as often as not is non-US and an orbit by definition is
outside US airspace. Seems like it then becomes treaty obligation time
to me rather than US code.

The concept of "airspace" doesn't legally apply for satellites that are
in earth orbit. The US deliberately set the precedent when we did NOT
protest Sputnik overflying the US while in orbit.

But agreed on the face of it, it is BS. But we've been through this
territory before vis-v-vis ITAR and NASA's NTRS, which had to be swept.
The law should be made more specific. But it will, as they say, require
an act of Congress to fix unless it's purely an administrative regulation.

Suprised it is NOAA rather than NASA or NRO that enforces this one. I
guess because NOAA is part of the Dept. of Commerce?

From what I understand, the rule dates back to the LANDSAT days. No
doubt it was originally intended to make it harder for "startups" to get
into the earth observation business, which is *big* business. The
satellite views in all of those online maps were paid for.

Jeff
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