FAA Takes Steps to Minimize Airspace Closings Near Spaceports

With an increasing number of launches, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced it is “taking steps to optimize and equitably manage the airspace in the vicinity of launch sites” using a “Set of objective factors” in order to minimize disruptions ahead of a busy summer travel season.

The FAA said it would use the following factors to determine whether a launch should proceed or be rescheduled:

• Location and timing of the proposed commercial space operation
• Number of flights and/or passengers that will be affected by the operation
• Holidays or significant events that result in more NAS congestion generally or in specific areas of the country (e.g., Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Spring break, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Super Bowl, significant military operations/exercises)
• Launch window duration
• Nighttime v. daytime launches: The FAA encourages commercial space operations to take place during nighttime hours (to the extent practicable) when other flight operations tend to be reduced
• Mission purpose: The FAA generally will prioritize commercial space operations that (1) have a national security purpose or are in the national interest and/or (2) commercial space launches carrying payloads.

“At the end of June, the agency will convene the aviation and space industries to continue collaborating and later will launch the Airspace Access Priorities Aviation Rulemaking Committee. That work is in addition to the use of tools and procedures (e.g., Space Data Integrator) that have cut airspace closures to an average of two hours instead of four hours per launch,” the FAA said.

There were 78 orbital launches from six U.S. spaceports last year. The figure does not include suborbital tests of ballistic missiles by the U.S. military and sounding rocket launches by NASA and other parties.

Orbital Launches From U.S. Spaceports, 2022

Fifty-seven of 78 orbital launch attempts originated from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There were 18 orbital launches out over the Pacific Ocean in California. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia hosted two launches while Alaska hosted one.

The number of launches from American spaceports is expected to increase this year. SpaceX, which launched 61 times in 2022, is aiming to conduct 100 flights of its Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Starship/Super Heavy boosters. Elon Musk’s company has launched 23 times thus far this year.