New tool limits disruption caused by space operations

Federal regulators said Thursday they can now better track rocket launches and space vehicles returning to Earth, which could reduce the time that planes have to be routed around space operations.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a new tool automates the near-instant delivery of data about a spacecraft’s flight path to the nation’s air traffic control system.

The tool, called Space Data Integrator, will replace a system in which much of the work of providing telemetry data on space vehicles to air traffic control officials is done manually.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was the first company to share flight telemetry data with the FAA, and others, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, have since joined the program, according to the FAA.

The FAA said the new technology was first used on June 30 for the launch of SpaceX’s Transporter 2, which took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying dozens of satellites into orbit. It will be in use again with the imminent return of a SpaceX freighter from the International Space Station, the agency said.

“With this capability, we will be able to reopen airspace more quickly and safely and reduce the number of aircraft and other airspace users affected by a launch or reentry,” the administrator said. FAA, Stephen Dickson.

During space operations, the FAA shuts off much of the airspace for hours on end in case the rocket or spacecraft breaks. Airlines have to reroute flights, forcing them to consume more fuel and fall behind schedule. A single launch can affect hundreds of flights.

The growth of the commercial space industry, and with it the number of launches and re-entries, has raised concerns among airlines that disruptions will become more frequent.

According to the FAA, there were 45 space launches and re-entries last year, a record, and which could rise to more than 70 this year.

The FAA said other changes it had already made reduced airspace closures from an average of over four hours to just over two hours for a launch. The agency said the spatial data integrator would reduce that further, but did not give an exact time.

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