܀ An initial framework was set up for cognitive radio SATCOM assessment, illustrating the interaction for both the primary user and secondary users □ We showed how the secondary user power constraint affects the utility performance and power allocation for a single channel case. □When more power is allowed at the secondary user, the secondary user tends to use the higher level modulation and coding scheme, which increases the utility of the secondary user. ܀ We studied the performance of the proposed schemes in a pseudo-realistic satellite scenario. □ From the simulation results, we showed the effectiveness of the theoretic study of the proposed cognitive radio SATCOM framework and solution.