How far from earth do FCC regulations apply?

Question

So, I know people in the space station need a HAM radio license for operation.

How Far exactly from earth do you have to be to transmit any RF wave you want without a license?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking, there are 3 categories of allocations for space missions, depending on what you are doing. And the laws never go away, although the enforcement might go away after a distance. The 3 categories are:

• Near Earth Communication- I can't find a specific definition, but this appears to be anything closer than the moon, or that orbits the moon. This does include Geostationary satellites.
• Deep Space Communication- For two way communication in deep space.
• Sensors in deep space- These frequencies can be used for sensors in deep space, but should not be used for communication with Earth.

Bottom line is, only the ability to enforce law allows one to get away from the international law concerning spectrum allocation. If you plan on communicating with Earth, either one or two way, you are subject to the laws of the location where you are talking with, which follows ITU law. There are looser restrictions if you never plan on communicating with Earth, however, and these probably won't be enforced.

In the United States, the FCC requires the following (25.113 g)

(g) Except as set forth in paragraph (h) of this section, a launch authorization and station license (i.e., operating authority) must be applied for and granted before a space station may be launched and
operated in orbit. Request for launch authorization may be included in an application for space station license.

Answer 2

I believe there is a limit to the elevation for which any nation can claim control over and such enforce its laws. A bit of searching led me to find that the exact elevation is not really agreed upon between nations but is between 30 km (19 mi) - 160 km (99 mi) above sea level.

There is no international agreement on the vertical extent of sovereign airspace (the boundary between outer space—which is not subject to national jurisdiction—and national airspace), with suggestions ranging from about 30 km (19 mi) (the extent of the highest aircraft and balloons) to about 160 km (99 mi) (the lowest extent of short-term stable orbits). The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has established the Kármán line, at an altitude of 100 km (62 mi), as the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and the outer space, while the United States considers anyone who has flown above 50 miles (80 km) to be an astronaut; indeed descending space shuttles have flown closer than 80 km (50 mi) over other nations, such as Canada, without requesting permission first.1 Nonetheless both the Kármán line and the U.S. definition are merely working benchmarks, without any real legal authority over matters of national sovereignty.

Taken from the Wikipedia Entry for Airspace

I think after a certain point respect for other's nations operating in space would be required.

However it is worth noting that the consensus is that you would be subject to airspace over the US for any altitude at which aircraft or balloons can fly. So pretty much any regular amateur activity you can think of (weather balloons or telemetry) will be subject to the laws of the airspace for the country in which you are operating.

If you have the funds to personally launch satellites or space probes and really wanted to transmit out of band or intentionally interfere with some other equipment, I'm sure there is not much that can be done outside of friendly negotiation (or perhaps you might find your personal space probe mysteriously destroyed without explanation).