Sec.  25.113   Station licenses and launch authority.

   (a) Construction permits are not required for satellite earth stations.
   Construction of such stations may commence prior to grant of a license at
   the applicant's own risk. Applicants must comply with the provisions of 47
   CFR  1.1312  relating  to environmental processing prior to commencing
   construction.

   (b) [Reserved]

   (c) FAA notification. Before the construction of new antenna structures or
   alteration in the height of existing antenna structures is authorized by the
   FCC, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determination of “no hazard”
   may be required. To apply for this determination, the FAA must be notified
   of  the  planned  construction. Criteria used to determine whether FAA
   notification is required for a particular antenna structure are contained in
   part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing construction of one or more
   new antenna structures or alteration of the overall height of one or more
   existing  antenna  structures,  where  FAA  notification prior to such
   construction or alteration is not required by part 17 of this chapter, must
   indicate such and, unless the reason is obvious ( e.g. structure height is
   less than 6.10 meters AGL) must contain a statement explaining why FAA
   notification is not required.

   (d) Painting and lighting. The owner of each antenna structure required to
   be painted and/or illuminated under the provisions of Section 303(q) of the
   Communications Act of 1934, as amended, shall operate and maintain the
   antenna structure painting and lighting in accordance with part 17 of this
   chapter. In the event of default by the owner, each licensee or permittee
   shall  be  individually responsible for conforming to the requirements
   pertaining to antenna structure painting and lighting.

   (e)  Antenna  Structure  Registration  Number.  Applications proposing
   construction of one or more new antenna structures or alteration of the
   overall height of one or more existing structures, where FAA notification
   prior to such construction or alteration is required by part 17 of this
   chapter, must include the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) for
   the affected structure(s). If no such number has been assigned at the time
   the  application is filed, the applicant must state in the application
   whether or not the antenna structure owner has notified the FAA of the
   proposed construction or alteration and applied to the FCC for an Antenna
   Structure Registration Number in accordance with part 17 of this chapter for
   the antenna structure in question.

   (f) Construction permits are not required for U.S.-licensed space stations.
   Construction of such stations may commence, at the applicant's own risk,
   prior to grant of a license. Prior to commencing construction, however,
   applicants  must  notify  the Commission in writing they plan to begin
   construction at their own risk.

   (g)  Except  as  set  forth in paragraph (h) of this section, a launch
   authorization and station license ( i.e. , operating authority) must be
   applied for and granted before a space station may be launched and operated
   in orbit. Request for launch authorization may be included in an application
   for space station license. However, an application for authority to launch
   and operate an on-ground spare satellite will be considered pursuant to the
   following procedures:

   (1) Applications for launch and operation of an on-ground spare NGSO-like
   satellite  will  be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in
    Sec. 25.157, except as set forth in paragraph (g)(3) of this section.

   (2) Applications for launch and operation of an on-ground spare GSO-like
   satellite  will  be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in
    Sec. 25.158, except as set forth in paragraph (g)(3) of this section.

   (3) Neither paragraph (g)(1) nor (g)(2) of this section will apply in cases
   where the space station to be launched is determined to be an emergency
   replacement for a previously authorized space station that has been lost as
   a result of a launch failure or a catastrophic in-orbit failure.

   (h) Licensees of Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) satellite systems
   need  not  file separate applications to operate technically identical
   in-orbit  spares  authorized  as part of a blanket license pursuant to
    Sec. 25.114(e) or any other satellite blanket licensing provision in this part.
   However, the licensee shall notify the Commission within 30 days of bringing
   the in-orbit spare into operation, and certify that operation of this space
   station did not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating
   space stations authorized by the Commission, and that the licensee will
   operate the space station within the applicable terms and conditions of its
   license. These notifications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 312.

   [ 56 FR 24016 , May 28, 1991, as amended at  61 FR 4366 , Feb. 6, 1996;  61 FR 9951 , Mar. 12, 1996;  61 FR 55582 , Oct. 28, 1996;  62 FR 5927 , Feb. 10, 1997;
    62 FR 64172 , Dec. 4, 1997;  68 FR 51502 , Aug. 27, 2003;  69 FR 47794 , Aug. 6,
   2004;  70 FR 32253 , June 2, 2005]