§60121 General Licensing Authority

Summary

The Secretary can give private companies permission to run remote sensing satellites. The Secretary works with other U.S. agencies when deciding and only licenses the remote sensing part if the satellite does other things too. A license will only be issued if the Secretary writes that the applicant will follow the rules, regulations, and U.S. security and international obligations. The Secretary must publish a list of everything an applicant must submit in the Federal Register. An application is complete when it has all items from the latest list published before the first filing. If the Secretary does not tell the applicant within 30 days that information is missing, the application cannot be denied for that missing information. The Secretary must decide on an application within 120 days. If more time is needed, the Secretary must tell the applicant what issues remain and what to fix. A license may not be denied just to protect an existing license holder from competition. The Secretary will also name any unenhanced data the licensee must give under section 60122(b)(3). That naming is done after consulting other agencies and only if the data come mainly from a system paid for by the U.S. government, or if it is in the U.S. interest after weighing effects on the licensee and public access. The naming cannot conflict with any government contract with the licensee.