§  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 § 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 § 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 § 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]