§  25.164   Milestones.

   (a) The recipient of an initial license for a GSO space station, other
   than a DBS space station, SDARS space station, or replacement space
   station as defined in § 25.165(e), must launch the space station,
   position it in its assigned orbital location, and operate it in
   accordance with the station authorization no later than 5 years after
   the grant of the license, unless a different schedule is established by
   Title 47, Chapter I, or the Commission.

   (b)(1) The recipient of an initial authorization for an NGSO satellite
   system, other than an SDARS system, must launch 50 percent of the
   maximum number of space stations authorized for service, place them in
   their assigned orbits, and operate them in accordance with the station
   authorization no later than 6 years after the grant of the
   authorization, unless a different schedule is established by Title 47,
   Chapter I. This paragraph does not apply to replacement NGSO space
   stations as defined in § 25.165(e).

   (2) A licensee that satisfies the requirement in paragraph (b)(1) of
   this section must launch the remaining space stations necessary to
   complete its authorized service constellation, place them in their
   assigned orbits, and operate each of them in accordance with the
   authorization no later than nine years after the grant of the
   authorization.

   (c)-(e) [Reserved]

   (f) A licensee subject to the requirements in paragraph (a) or (b) of
   this section must either demonstrate compliance with the applicable
   requirement or notify the Commission in writing that the requirement
   was not met, within 15 days after the specified deadline. Compliance
   with a milestone requirement in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section
   may be demonstrated by certifying pursuant to § 25.121(d) that the space
   station(s) in question, has, or have, been launched and placed in the
   authorized orbital location or non-geostationary orbit(s) and that
   in-orbit operation of the space station or stations has been tested and
   found to be consistent with the terms of the authorization.

   (g) Licensees of satellite systems that include both NGSO satellites
   and GSO satellites must meet the requirement in paragraph (a) of this
   section with respect to the GSO satellite(s) and the applicable
   requirements in paragraph (b) of this section with respect to the NGSO
   satellites.

   (h) In cases where the Commission grants a satellite authorization in
   different stages, such as a license for a satellite system using feeder
   links or inter-satellite links, the earliest of the milestone schedules
   will be applied to the entire satellite system.

   [ 68 FR 51507 , Aug. 27, 2003, as amended at  69 FR 51587 , Aug. 20, 2004;
    79 FR 8320 , Feb. 12, 2014;  81 FR 55334 , Aug. 18, 2016;  82 FR 59985 ,
   Dec. 18, 2017]