To apply for a license to operate a remote sensing space system under 51 U.S.C. 60101, et seq. and this part, you must provide:
1. Material Facts: Fully accurate and responsive information to the following prompts under “Description of Applicant (Operator)” and “Description of System.” If a question is not applicable, write “N/A” and explain, if necessary.
2. Affirmation: Confirm by indicating below that there will be, at all times, measures in place to ensure positive control of any spacecraft in the system that have propulsion, if applicable to your system. Such measures include encryption of telemetry, command, and control communications or alternative measures consistent with industry best practice.
3. Your response to each prompt below constitutes a material fact. If any information you submit becomes inaccurate or incomplete before a license grant or denial, you must promptly contact the Secretary and submit correct and updated information as instructed by the Secretary.
Part A: Description of Applicant (Operator)
1. General Applicant Information
a. Name of Applicant (entity or individual):
b. Location and address of Applicant:
c. Applicant contact information (for example, general corporate or university contact information):
d. Contact information for a specific individual to serve as the point of contact with Commerce:
e. Contact information for a specific individual to serve as the point of contact with Commerce for limited-operations directives, if different than main point of contact, in the event that the applicant will receive a license in Tier 2 or Tier 3:
f. Place of incorporation and, if incorporated outside the United States, an acknowledgement that you will operate your system within the United States and are therefore subject to the Secretary's jurisdiction under this part:
2. Ownership interests in the Applicant:
a. If there is majority U.S. ownership: Report any domestic entity or individual with an ownership interest in the Applicant totaling at least 50 percent:
b. If there is not majority U.S. ownership: Report all foreign entities or individuals whose ownership interest in the Applicant is at least 10 percent:
c. Report any ownership interest in the Applicant by any foreign entity or individual on the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security's Denied Persons List or Entity List or on the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Person List:
3. Identity of any subsidiaries and affiliates playing a role in the operation of the System, including a brief description of that role:
Part B: Description of System
1. General System Information
a. Name of system:
b. Brief mission description:
2. Remote Sensing Instrument(s) parameters
a. Sensor type (Electro Optical, Multi-Spectral (MSI), Hyperspectral (HSI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Thermal Infrared (TIR), etc.):
b. Imaging/frame rate in Hertz; pulse repetition frequency for SAR or LIDAR:
c. Spatial resolution in meters (show calculation for the anticipated finest ground spatial distance (GSD), impulse response (IPR), or other relevant appropriate unit of resolution):
d. Spectral range in nanometers:
e. Collection volume in area per unit time per spacecraft: Provide an estimate of the maximum number of square kilometers of which the system can provide data/imagery per hour or per minute. If this is a fast-framing system, consider each recorded frame as a separate image collected:
f. Ability of the remote sensing instrument to slew, point, or digitally look off-axis from the x, y, and z axes of travel:
3. If any entity or individual other than the Applicant will own, control, or manage any remote sensing instrument in the System:
a. Identity and contact information of that entity or individual:
b. Relationship to Applicant (i.e., operating under Applicant's instructions under a contract):
4. Spacecraft Upon Which the Remote Sensing Instrument(s) is (are) Carried
a. Description:
b. Estimated launch date(s) in calendar quarter:
c. Number of spacecraft (system total and maximum in-orbit at one time):
d. For each spacecraft, provide the following (or if an entire constellation will have substantially the same orbital characteristics, provide these values for the entire constellation and note whether or not all spacecraft will be evenly spaced)
i. Altitude range in kilometers:
ii. Inclination range in degrees:
iii. Period (time of a single orbit):
iv. Longitude of the ascending node:
v. Eccentricity:
vi. Argument of perigee:
vii. Propulsion (yes/no). (If “yes,” you must complete the affirmation in the beginning of this application):
viii. Ability of the spacecraft to slew, point, or digitally look off-axis from the x, y, and z axes of travel:
5. If any entity or individual other than the Applicant will own, control, or manage any spacecraft in the System
a. Identity and contact information of that entity or individual:
b. Whether that entity or individual is a U.S. person:
c. Relationship to Applicant (i.e., operating under Applicant's instructions under a contract):
6. Ground Components
a. Location of Mission Control Center(s) with the ability to operate the system, including where commands are generated:
b. Location of other Ground Station components of the system, meaning facilities that communicate commands to the instrument or receive unenhanced data from it, and facilities that conduct data preprocessing:
c. If any entity or individual other than the Applicant will own, control, or manage any mission control center(s) with the ability to operate the System
i. Identity and contact information of that entity or individual:
ii. Relationship to Applicant (i.e., operating under Applicant's instructions under a contract):
7. Information Applicable to Multi-Spectral Imaging (MSI) and/or Hyper-Spectral Imaging (HSI). Applicants must complete this section only if the response in Part B section 2.a. is “MSI” and/or “HSI.”
a. Number of spectral bands:
b. Individual spectral bandwidths (to include range of the upper and lower ends of each spectral band in nanometers):
8. Noise Equivalent Target (NET). Applicants must complete this section only if the response in Part B 2.c. is 5 meters or less, and the answer in Part B section 2.a. is neither “SAR” nor “LIDAR.” NET is the primary parameter used by the U.S. Government to describe an Electro Optical sensor's light sensitivity performance for a target at the same distance from the sensor as is specified as the minimum operating altitude in Part B section 4.d.i. If NET cannot be calculated, simply report the expected minimum detectable ground target radiance in watts:
9. Information Applicable to Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) if used for remote sensing. Responses should include the calculations used to derive the reported parameters. Applicants must complete this section only if the response in Part B section 2.a. is “LIDAR.”
a. Type (linear scanning or flash LIDAR (Geiger)):
b. Laser wavelength and pulse frequency:
c. Laser pulse width:
d. Spectral linewidth:
e. Z/Elevation accuracy in meters:
10. Information Applicable to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Applicants must complete this section only if the response in Part B section 2.a. is “SAR.”
a. Azimuth resolution (ground plane):
b. Range resolution (ground plane):
c. SAR Signal-To-Noise Ratio (SNR):
d. Polarization Capability (i.e. dual polarization, quad polarization):
e. Complex data: Preservation of phase history data in standard format? (yes/no):
f. Center frequency:
g. Squint and Graze angles (include maximum and minimum), or other parameters that determine the size and shape of the area of regard of the sensor collection footprint at the ground:
11. Information Applicable to Thermal Infrared (TIR). TIR is defined as collecting in the spectral range of 3.0-5.0 and/or 8.0-12.0-micrometers. Applicants must complete this section only if the response in Part B section 2.a. is “TIR.”
a. Estimated relative thermometric accuracy in degrees Kelvin (± × degrees of actual):
b. Noise Equivalent Differential Temperature (NEDT), or if NEDT cannot be calculated, simply provide the expected temperature sensitivity in terms of minimum resolvable temperature difference in degrees
1
:
1 NEDT (noise equivalent differential temperature) is the key figure of merit which is used to qualify midwave (MWIR) and longwave (LWIR) infrared cameras. It is a signal-to-noise figure which represents the temperature difference which would produce a signal equal to the camera's temporal noise. It therefore represents approximately the minimum temperature difference which the camera can resolve. It is calculated by dividing the temporal noise by the response per degree (responsivity) and is usually expressed in units of milliKelvins. The value is a function of the camera's f/number, its integration time, and the temperature at which the measurement is made.
Part C: Requests for Standard License Condition Waivers or Adjustments
Standard license conditions are listed at §§ 960.8. 960.9, and 960.10 for Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 systems, respectively. If requesting that any of these be waived or adjusted, please identify the specific standard license condition and explain why one of the following circumstances applies:
1. The requirement is not applicable due to the nature of the Applicant or the proposed system;
2. The Applicant will achieve the goal in a different way; or
3. There is other good cause to waive or adjust the condition.
Optional: You may submit evidence of the availability of unenhanced data that is substantially the same as unenhanced data you propose to produce with your system. The Secretary will take any such evidence into account, in addition to other evidence of availability, when determining the appropriate tier for your system under § 960.6.