联邦通信委员会批准Globalstar第三代C-3卫星系统在全美运营 48颗卫星支持手机直连 明年起发射
卫星通信公司 Globalstar 10月19日宣布，联邦通信委员会（Federal Communications Commission, FCC）已发布命令，授予该公司在全美运营其第三代 C-3 移动卫星业务（MSS）系统的授权。公司总部位于路易斯安那州 Covington，其股票在纳斯达克上市，代码 GSAT。
根据授权，C-3 卫星可与全美数以亿计的移动地球终端通信，包括让智能手机直接连接卫星的「手机直连」（direct-to-device, D2D）服务；公司设在阿拉斯加州、夏威夷州、内华达州、德克萨斯州、佛罗里达州与波多黎各的地面站天线也获准与 C-3 卫星通信。Globalstar 首席执行官 Paul E. Jacobs 表示：「获得 FCC 这一授权，是继续提升我们低轨卫星星座能力的关键一步。」
C-3 系统已由法国以 AST-NG-C-3 之名向国际电信联盟通报，将由48颗运行在1,414公里高度的低轨卫星与6颗在轨备份星组成，全球约90面六米口径地面站天线提供支持；卫星由加拿大 MDA Space 制造，地面站天线为美国制造、分布在20多个国家，系统由法国 Toulouse 与 Covington 的两个卫星运营控制中心指挥控制。公司称 C-3 卫星预计自明年起开始发射。
Globalstar 总法律顾问兼监管事务副总裁 L. Barbee Ponder 表示，C-3 是「一个真正全球化的系统」，并对 FCC 及其太空局（Space Bureau）完成这项历时多年的许可工作表示感谢。
FCC Authorizes Globalstar's Third-Generation C-3 System for U.S. Operations — 48 Satellites for Direct-to-Device Service, Launches to Begin Next Year
Satellite communications company Globalstar announced on October 19 that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued an order granting the company nationwide authority to operate its third-generation C-3 mobile-satellite service (MSS) system in the United States. Globalstar is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, and trades on Nasdaq under the ticker GSAT.
Under the authorization, C-3 satellites will be able to communicate with hundreds of millions of mobile earth terminals in the United States, including direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity to smartphones. The order also permits Globalstar's ground station antennas in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico to communicate with the C-3 satellites. 'Receiving this FCC authorization is a critical step forward for continuing to enhance the capabilities of our low Earth orbit satellite constellations,' said Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paul E. Jacobs.
The C-3 system, notified to the International Telecommunication Union by France under the name AST-NG-C-3, will comprise 48 low Earth orbit satellites operating at an altitude of 1,414 kilometers plus 6 in-orbit spares, supported by approximately 90 six-meter ground station antennas around the world. The satellites are manufactured by MDA Space in Canada, the ground station antennas are U.S.-manufactured and installed in more than 20 countries, and the system will be commanded from satellite operations control centers in Toulouse, France, and Covington, Louisiana. The company says C-3 satellites are expected to launch beginning next year.
L. Barbee Ponder, Globalstar's General Counsel and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, called C-3 'truly a global system' and thanked the FCC and its Space Bureau for bringing the multi-year licensing effort to a successful conclusion.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：Delta II 火箭在 Cape Canaveral 发射 Globalstar 卫星（资料图，箭体上可见 Globalstar 标识），公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: A Delta II rocket launching a Globalstar satellite from Cape Canaveral (file photo; the Globalstar logo is visible on the vehicle), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
