Category XV
Spacecraft and Related Articles
Paragraphs marked SME are Significant Military Equipment.
| Paragraph | Text |
|---|---|
| (a) | Spacecraft, including satellites and space vehicles, whether designated developmental, experimental, research, or scientific, or having a commercial, civil, or military end-use, that: |
| (1) | Are specially designed to mitigate effects (e.g., scintillation) of or for detection of a nuclear detonation; SME |
| (2) | Autonomously detect and track moving ground, airborne, missile, or space objects other than celestial bodies, in real-time using imaging, infrared, radar, or laser systems; SME |
| (3) | Conduct signals intelligence (SIGINT) or measurement and signatures intelligence (MASINT); SME |
| (4) | Are specially designed to be used in a constellation or formation that when operated together, in essence or effect, form a virtual satellite (e.g., functioning as if one satellite) with the characteristics or functions of other items in paragraph (a); SME |
| (5) | Are anti-satellite or anti-spacecraft (e.g., kinetic, RF, laser, charged particle); SME |
| (6) | Have space-to-ground weapons systems (e.g., kinetic or directed energy); SME |
| (7) | Have any of the following electro-optical remote sensing capabilities or characteristics: SME |
| (i) | Electro-optical visible and near infrared (VNIR) (i.e., 400nm to 1,000nm) or infrared (i.e., greater than 1,000nm to 30,000nm) with less than 40 spectral bands and having a clear aperture greater than 0.50m; |
| (ii) | Electro-optical hyperspectral with 40 spectral bands or more in the VNIR, short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) (i.e., greater than 1,000nm to 2,500nm) or any combination of the aforementioned and having a Ground Sample Distance (GSD) less than 30 meters; |
| (iv) | Electro-optical hyperspectral with 40 spectral bands or more in the long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) (i.e., greater than 5,500nm to 30,000nm) having a narrow spectral bandwidth of Δλ less than or equal to 50nm FWHM or having a wide spectral bandwidth with Δλ greater than 50nm FWHM and a GSD less than 500 meters; |
| (8) | Have radar remote sensing capabilities or characteristics (e.g., active electronically scanned array (AESA), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), ultra-wideband SAR), except those having a center frequency equal to or greater than 1 GHz but less than or equal to 10 GHz and having a bandwidth less than 300 MHz; SME |
| (9) | Provide Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) signals; |
| (10) | Autonomously perform collision avoidance; |
| (11) | Are sub-orbital, incorporate propulsion systems described in paragraph (e) of this category or Category IV(d)(1)-(6) of this section, and are specially designed for atmospheric entry or re-entry; |
| (12) | Are specially designed to provide inspection or surveillance of another spacecraft, or service another spacecraft via grappling or docking; or |
| (13) | Are classified, contain classified software or hardware, are manufactured using classified production data, or are being developed using classified information (e.g., having classified requirements, specifications, functions, or operational characteristics or include classified cryptographic items controlled under USML Category XIII of this subchapter). SME |
| (b) | Ground control systems or training simulators, specially designed for telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) of spacecraft in paragraph (a) of this category. |
| (c) | -(d) [Reserved] |
| (e) | Spacecraft parts, components, accessories, attachments, equipment, or systems, as follows: |
| (1) | Antenna systems specially designed for spacecraft that: |
| (i) | Have a dimension greater than 25 meters in diameter or length of the major axis; |
| (ii) | Employ active electronic scanning; |
| (iv) | Are for interferometric radar; |
| (2) | Space-qualified optics (i.e., lens, mirror or membrane) having one of the following: |
| (i) | Active properties (e.g., adaptive, deformable) with a largest lateral clear aperture dimension greater than 0.35m; or |
| (ii) | A largest lateral clear aperture dimension greater than 0.50m; |
| (3) | Space-qualified focal plane arrays (FPA) having a peak response in the wavelength range exceeding 900nm and readout integrated circuit (ROIC), whether separate or integrated, specially designed therefor; |
| (4) | Space-qualified mechanical (i.e., active) cryocooler or active cold finger systems, and associated control electronics specially designed therefor; |
| (5) | Space-qualified active vibration suppression systems, including active isolation and active dampening systems, and associated control electronics specially designed therefor; |
| (6) | Optical bench assemblies specially designed to enable spacecraft to meet or exceed the parameters described in paragraph (a) of this category; |
| (7) | Space-qualified kinetic or directed-energy systems (e.g., RF, laser, charged particle) specially designed for spacecraft in paragraph (a)(5) or (a)(6) of this category, and specially designed parts and components therefor (e.g., power conditioning and beam-handling/switching, propagation, tracking, and pointing equipment); |
| (8) | [Reserved] |
| (9) | Space-qualified cesium, rubidium, hydrogen maser, or quantum (e.g., based upon Al, Hg, Yb, Sr, Be Ions) atomic clocks, and specially designed parts and components therefor; |
| (10) | Attitude determination and control systems, and specially designed parts and components therefor, that provide a spacecraft's geolocation accuracy, without using Ground Location Points, better than or equal to: |
| (i) | 5 meters (CE90) from low earth orbit (LEO); |
| (ii) | 30 meters (CE90) from medium earth orbit (MEO); |
| (iv) | 225 meters (CE90) from high earth orbit (HEO); |
| (11) | Space-based systems, and specially designed parts and components therefor, as follows: |
| (i) | Nuclear reactors and associated power conversion systems (e.g., liquid metal or gas-cooled fast reactors); |
| (ii) | Radioisotope-based power systems (e.g., radioisotope thermoelectric generators); |
| (iv) | Electric (Plasma/Ion) propulsion systems that provide a thrust greater than 300 milli-Newtons and a specific impulse greater than 1,500 sec; or that operate at an input power of more than 15kW; |
| (12) | Thrusters (e.g., spacecraft or rocket engines) using bi-propellants or mono-propellant that provide greater than 150 lbf (i.e., 667.23 N) vacuum thrust (MT for rocket motors or engines having a total impulse capacity equal to or greater than 8.41 × 10^5 newton seconds); |
| (13) | Control moment gyroscope (CMG) specially designed for spacecraft; |
| (14) | Space-qualified monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) that combine transmit and receive (T/R) functions on a single die as follows: |
| (i) | Having a power amplifier with maximum saturated peak output power (in watts), Psat, greater than 200 divided by the maximum operating frequency (in GHz) squared [Psat >200 W* GHz2/fGHz2]; or |
| (ii) | Having a common path (e.g., phase shifter-digital attenuator) circuit with greater than 3 bits phase shifting at operating frequencies 10 GHz or below, or greater than 4 bits phase shifting at operating frequencies above 10 GHz; |
| (15) | Space-qualified oscillator for radar in paragraph (a) of this category with phase noise less than −120 dBc/Hz + (20 log10(RF) (in GHz)) measured at 2 KHz* RF (in GHz) from carrier; |
| (16) | Space-qualified star tracker or star sensor with angular accuracy less than or equal to 1 arcsec (1-Sigma) per star coordinate, and a tracking rate equal to or greater than 3.0 deg/sec, and specially designed parts and components therefor (MT); |
| (17) | Primary, secondary, or hosted payload that performs any of the functions described in paragraph (a) of this category; SME |
| (18) | Secondary or hosted payload, and specially designed parts and components therefor, developed with Department of Defense-funding; SME |
| (19) | Spacecraft heat shields or heat sinks specially designed for atmospheric entry or re-entry, and specially designed parts and components therefor (MT if usable in rockets, SLVs, missiles, drones, or UAVs capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kg to a range of at least 300 km); |
| (20) | Equipment modules, stages, or compartments that incorporate propulsion systems described in paragraph (e) of this category or Category IV(d)(1)-(6) of this section, and can be separated or jettisoned from another spacecraft; or |
| (21) | Any part, component, accessory, attachment, equipment, or system that: SME |
| (i) | Is classified; |
| (ii) | Contains classified software; or |
| (f) | Technical data (see § 120.33 of this subchapter) and defense services (see § 120.32 of this subchapter) directly related to the defense articles described in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this category and classified technical data directly related to items controlled in ECCNs 9A515, 9B515, or 9D515 and defense services using the classified technical data. Defense services include the furnishing of assistance (including training) to a foreign person in the integration of a satellite or spacecraft to a launch vehicle, including both planning and onsite support, regardless of the jurisdiction, ownership, or origin of the satellite or spacecraft, or whether technical data is used. It also includes the furnishing of assistance (including training) to a foreign person in the launch failure analysis of a satellite or spacecraft, regardless of the jurisdiction, ownership, or origin of the satellite of spacecraft, or whether technical data is used. (See § 125.4 of this subchapter for exemptions, and § 124.15 of this subchapter for special export controls for satellites and satellite launches.) (MT for technical data and defense services related to articles designated as such.) |
| (g) | -(w) [Reserved] |
| (x) | Commodities, software, and technology subject to the EAR used in or with defense articles. |
Source: eCFR, version
2026-08-01, retrieved
2026-08-20T04:08:36+00:00.