As record rocket launches crowd airspace, the FAA fights to limit travel disruptions

WASHINGTON – Space companies are launching more rockets than ever before, increasing competition for airspace just like passengers return flight In numbers — and leaving the Federal Aviation Administration in the middle to keep things moving.

FAA has long-term supervision of US airspace, responsible for minimizing disruption to air travel due to weather, military incidents or technical glitches, Add in the rapidly expanding space launch market, and the complex puzzle-work of making space in the skies becomes more delicate.

Some of the agency’s strategies to meet growing demand include reducing airspace closure times and expanding beyond popular travel destinations. like florida to launch sites as far away as Alaska.

“Space is cheap now. Operators can go into space and it’s not just nation states, it’s private companies now — it’s a big change in the paradigm,” said Duane Freer, manager of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization Space Operations Office.

“We’ve made significant progress reducing impact and more efficiently managing the airspace for launch and reentry missions,” Freer told CNBC. “It wasn’t that long ago that SpaceX was a new company and these were all fantasy ideas.”

The FAA plans to manage US airspace for a record-breaking 92 space missions in 2022, a 33% increase from last year, and it expects to top that this year. That number includes both rocket launches and capsule reentries, and continues to climb.

Most of last year’s missions were launched from Florida, straining airspace in the state, which already has a unique air traffic control challenge: The Sunshine State has attracted more and more travelers in recent years and has seen several flights a year. The months face frequent typhoons.

Airlines operated 722,180 flights to and from Florida last year, marking a sharp improvement over pre-pandemic flight levels in the state compared to the national average. Miami International Airport announced that 2022 was a record breaking year for travelers

that airline volume means a rocket launch, even one that’s regular and on time, may present a significant challenge to passenger airlines. Disrupting airspace over Florida affects routes over the Atlantic Ocean, Freer said, calling those flights “a really big, heavy hitter.”

This could swing the airspace priority tug of war in favor of the airlines: In one instance, Freer recalled, his office spoke to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration when the space agency was considering its lunar launch effort. . Artemis I Mission In the days immediately before and after Thanksgiving.

“We worked very collaboratively with NASA on mitigating those impacts and really eliminating those launch opportunities, because the impact on aviation would have been enormous,” Freer said.

And there’s no need to balance the influx of spaceflights against the needs of airlines. Even if airspace is closed briefly, travel delays can be prolonged because of overcrowded airports and crews running out of time for the day.

The FAA has introduced new equipment and modernized systems for its teams and controllers over the past five years. got it Will meet with airline officials last year to discuss initiatives to reduce congestion in Florida with airlines, and its Space Collaborative Decision Making Committee, which works to integrate space operations into the national airspace system . Southwest Airlines’ Headquarters next month, the FAA said.

Most of last year’s space missions were carried out by Elon Musk’s SpaceX – which set a new annual launch record for the company of 61 in 2022. Launch every four days.

The rest of last year’s launches were made up of NASA missions, rocket labUnited Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, astra, virgin orbit, northrop grumman, boeing and firefly.

Freer’s office serves as a liaison between the space companies, the range or spaceport, and air traffic controllers, although the FAA also plays a role in licensing and regulating launches. Importantly, the FAA routinely negotiates with airlines to close broad areas of airspace before, during, and after a launch.

“The impact on the aviation community in general is in retrospect,” Freer said. “We don’t see traditional delays – with ground delay programs or ground stops – associated with the launch.”

Rerouting means flying extra miles, which increases the cost of airlines. Some airline CEOs have called the rocket launches an additional bottleneck in airspace that is already crowded with flights as well as military activity.

“Every time there’s a new change or a wrinkle, say, we’re dealing with many more rocket launches and satellite launches in the Florida coast … that affects airspace,” American Airlines said CEO Robert Isom at the US Travel Association conference in September.

“Air space is going to be an important, important issue,” Isom said, calling on new industries to contribute to the cost of air traffic control.

Airlines kick in funding for the federal agency through air ticket and fuel taxes. General aviation also contributes through fuel taxes. The space industry does not have a formal system to support air traffic control.

United Airlines Recently discussed CEO Scott Kirby last month FAA pilot-alert system outage It halted US departures for several hours, saying the agency has been stretched thin by the additional workload of devoting resources to space launches, drone and aircraft certification.

“They had to rob Peter to pay Paul,” Kirby said of his company. income call last month. “They were asked to do more, and they’re doing it with less money.”

FAA is growing too fast start of licensing in more geographic areas. In 2022, the agency plans to license 50 space launches from Florida, 13 from California, nine from New Zealand, four from Texas, two from Virginia and one from Alaska.

When it comes to rocket launches there are two significant time-wasters among the many variables that the FAA has to manage: Windows and scrubs.

Both may be rocket lingo, but they represent ideas that are just as important as liftoff. A launch window refers to a period of time, often several hours long, during which a rocket has to get off the ground to reach its intended destination in space. A scrub indicates when a countdown is postponed, and is often delayed by a day or more.

Together they make a moving target for space launches and commercial airlines eyeing the same airspace.

Over the past five years, the FAA conducted eight major efforts to improve airspace closure efficiency around launch. It has introduced systems to help reroute as few aircraft as possible – only those flying in the rocket’s planned flight path – to reduce the time that airspace at either end of the window is occupied. is closed, and to uncover key mission triggers, such as when rocket fuel is loaded, to know when to close and open the airspace.

In a less than successful launch, scrubs can be disruptive to air traffic. A rocket countdown can be postponed or canceled until the last minute.

In 2022, the FAA counts 61 scrubs, which it defines as a launch that is canceled within 24 hours of an intended liftoff time. But overall, the on-time performance of launches improved in 2022 — at 76%, up from 62% three years ago, according to the FAA.

Two years ago the FAA introduced one of its most useful tools yet: the “Space Data Integrator.” It tracks a rocket in real time through data shared by the launch operator, and keeps the FAA updated in real time on the rocket’s health.

The SDI was “a big step forward for us,” Freer said, adding that in case of a rocket failure his team could hit a malfunction button and immediately create a debris field to keep the plane afloat.

“now we have [rocket’s] Positioning ourselves on the same piece of glass with our aircraft … It’s a significant step forward for air traffic, and it really points us toward a future where we’re really doing integration,” Freer said.

SpaceX currently participates in the FAA’s SDI to minimize disruptions, and Freer emphasized that “a number of new operators are working through that process.” Blue Origin and Firefly are part of an onboarding process, he said, and are likely to join the program next.