ORLANDO, Fla. – A sharp increase in rocket launches is disrupting commercial air travel, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, prompting the agency to look into minimizing the disruptions.
The FAA is forced to close a large amount of airspace for hours at a time for each planned rocket liftoff.
Most of U.S. rocket launches happen on Florida’s Space Coast, although Texas, California and other locations are also impacted.
The FAA said it will consider how flights and passengers may be affected before approving future launch applications.
The agency will consider the following factors:
- The location and timing of the proposed commercial space operation
- The 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.
The FAA said leaders in the space and aviation industries will meet in June to continue working together to limit disruptions.
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