Safe Integration of Commercial Space Operations into the US National Airspace System and Beyond
Introduction
The ALPA Air Safety Organization (ASO) works on behalf of the safety interests of over 63,000 professional airline pilots who operate around the globe and around the clock. The ALPA ASO formed the Commercial Space Task Group to ensure that Association resources and expertise were focused on issues surrounding the integration of commercial space operations into the airspace where our members fly.
In our 2018 paper, Addressing the Challenges to Aviation from Evolving Space Transportation, we highlighted the numerous challenges that the tremendous growth in commercial space operations will present to the nation, including space operator approval, spaceport licensing, regulations for spacecraft crew and participants, spacecraft design standards, and other critical areas. It is ALPA’s belief that the number of commercial space launches and recoveries will rapidly escalate in the next 10 years, and that the United States will lead by example in successful commercial space operations that are safely integrated with the mature commercial aviation industry.
In this follow-up paper, ALPA will take a deeper dive into the operational integration of commercial space into the NAS and beyond, particularly in the area of oceanic air traffic management with an eye toward the same level of safety. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the opportunity that exists today for the aviation and commercial space industries to collaborate on and benefit from a joint vision for the future. This vision will address evolution from today’s manual, segregated operation to one which is highly integrated in terms of not only airspace sharing, but also in information sharing, situational awareness, collaborative decision making, and operational procedures.
By working together toward an integrated future, both the aviation and space communities have the opportunity to benefit from investments in our national airspace infrastructure.
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