§960.8. Standard license conditions for all tiers. — Inbound Citations

(a) If the Secretary has categorized the system as Tier 3 under § 960.6, the license shall specify that the licensee shall comply with the conditions listed in § 960.8 and further shall comply with the following conditions until the Secretary notifies the licensee that the system belongs in a lower-numbered tier for which the following conditions are not required:

(1) Comply with limited-operations directives issued by the Secretary, in accordance with a determination made by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State pursuant to the procedures in Section IV(D) of the MOU, that require licensees to temporarily limit data collection and/or dissemination during periods of increased concerns for national security and where necessary to meet international obligations or foreign policy interests; and:

(i) This includes:

(A) The ability to implement National Institute of Standards and Technology-approved encryption, in accordance with the manufacturer's security policy, wherein the key length is at least 256 bits, for communications to and from the on-orbit components of the system related to tracking, telemetry, and control and for transmissions throughout the system of the data specified in the limited-operations directive; and

(B) Implementing measures, consistent with industry best practice for entities of similar size and business operations, that prevent unauthorized access to the system and identify any unauthorized access in the event of a limited-operations directive;

(ii) Provide and continually update the Secretary with a point of contact and an alternate point of contact for limited-operations directives; and

(iii) During any such limited-operations directive, permit the Secretary to immediately access any component of the system for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the limited-operations directive, the Act, this part, and the license.

(2) Conduct resolved imaging of other artificial resident space objects (ARSO) orbiting the Earth only with the written consent of the registered owner of the ARSO to be imaged and with notification to the Secretary at least five days prior to imaging, or as may otherwise be provided in a temporary license condition developed under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. For purposes of this paragraph (a)(2), “resolved imaging” means the imaging of another ARSO that results in data depicting the ARSO with a resolution of 3 x 3 pixels or greater.

(3) Comply with any temporary license conditions developed in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section until their specified expiration date, including any extensions of the expiration date.

As part of the application, the applicant may request that any condition listed in § 960.8, § 960.9, or § 960.10 be waived or adjusted. The Secretary may approve the request to waive or adjust any such condition if the Secretary determines, after consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and State as appropriate, that the Secretary may waive or adjust the condition without violating the Act or other law, and:

(2) Any corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, or other entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

Waiver means any change from the standard license text in § 960.8, § 960.9, or § 960.10, which change is included in a license upon license issuance, in response to a request by the applicant pursuant to § 960.12.

(a) Within seven days of the Secretary's notification to the applicant under § 960.5(c) that the application is complete, the Secretary shall determine, after consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and State as appropriate, the category for the system as follows:

(1) If the application proposes a system with the capability to collect unenhanced data substantially the same as unenhanced data already available from entities or individuals not licensed under this part, such as foreign entities, the Secretary shall categorize the application as Tier 1;

(2) If the application proposes a system with the capability to collect unenhanced data substantially the same as unenhanced data already available, but only from entities or individuals licensed under this part, the Secretary shall categorize the application as Tier 2; and

(3) If the application proposes a system with the capability to collect unenhanced data not substantially the same as unenhanced data already available from any domestic or foreign entity or individual, the Secretary shall categorize the application as Tier 3.

If the Secretary has categorized the system as Tier 2 under § 960.6, the license shall specify that the licensee shall comply with the conditions listed in § 960.8 and further shall comply with the following conditions until the Secretary notifies the licensee that the system belongs in a lower-numbered tier:

(f) If, at any point during the procedures in this section, the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of State objects to any determination, they may elevate the objection pursuant to the interagency dispute resolution procedures in Section IV(B) of the MOU.