Edward and Ian: See this follow-up post, only two weeks later:

Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross puts his foot down

I should add that the later streamlined regulations attempted to eliminate this same NOAA office that tried this absurd power grab. I am not sure if that actually ended up happening in the final regulations, but regardless this particular power grab by NOAA was ended.

Others I am sure will follow.

Thanks. The last time I’ve dealt with camera stuff is around 2 years ago. The FAA wanted us to make sure cams don’t have specific angles of view and aren’t activated below a specific altitude. And I think that was after the outcry over NOAA’s insistence to regulate cams.

Those specs weren’t a burden for the mission. And I have a lot of understanding for them actually. Once launched and being a foreign (private) entity, one’s actions are outside America’s control — and why should she allow foreign entities to launch from her soil and then potentially turn against her? Compliance with reasonable regulations is fine with me — but perhaps that’s just the European statist bootlicker in me speaking. :)

See this post:
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/noaa-admits-it-wants-the-power-to-license-all-camera-use-in-space/

During this controversy, SpaceX would broadcast video from the booster stage but did not broadcast images from the upper stage after separation. This helped to demonstrate the absurdity of NOAA’s power grab. My recollection is similar to Robert’s, that its attempt to grab power so embarrassed NOAA that it was easily forced to backed down.

Ian C: The Trump administration quickly came down hard on these out-of-control regulators, and stopped that nonsense about imaging almost immediately.

If we were to send private cameras to the lunar surface or obit, I think the NOAA (or some other authority part of the interagency consultation) has reservations about what we could see clearly. They want to prevent private or foreign entities from doing unregulated Earth observation (EO), at least when launched from US soil or with US-based launchers. If I remember the specs correctly, you can either do lunar stuff or far away stuff, but nothing that allows EO (without them having closer control).
Think they came up with it after SpaceX’s 1st Falcon Heavy launch, where there were cams on the LV pointing toward Earth. Possible that they’ve updated their specs so that EO sats can do their job. Anyone knows more?

In May year 7 BC (so a bit off season) not only Jupiter and Saturn, but also Mars were all in conjunction. That only happens every 800 years, so unheard of in the memory and registers of all astrologers. ALL superior planets in conjunction. And as seen from the temple of Jerusalem, they did so above Bethlehem on the horizon. Becoming visible just after sunset, so visible only there over Bethlehem. And night to night moving towards the Sun, the symbol of the King.

That was (perhaps, I’m convinced) the astrological interpretation at the time. “The uncertainty of science” perhaps Bob would say :-)
There’s this idea that the three planets’ conjunction is the source of the euphuism of the three wise men. Anyway, here’s a historian/astrologist making a presentation of this idea, with more subtleness (like Venus at the same time being in vertical retrograde).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jceCjSNbk