The United States established the first space traffic control in history

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided it was time to expand air traffic control activity to integrate high-altitude and sub-tropical traffic. It is a small step for a public body and the beginning of a great step for humanity: Normalization of flights in space.

They launch an electric motorcycle that will follow you alone wherever you go

Jesus Diaz

So far, commercial launches are being controlled It was a delicate thingBut since Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin operations began, the FAA will establish continuous monitoring of what lies ahead. The FAA notes that in 2020 it issued licenses for 41 commercial launches and reentries. In 2021, the number could reach 70 at this rate. In 2022 it will rise again and It might explode.

As Wayne Monteith, FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, stated, “Maintaining the safety of the public while increasing the pace of commercial space operations requires the FAA to adapt and be cerfull “.

This is what it does exactly: To monitor Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, FAA الطيران —which depends on the US Department of Transportation— Opening a new office in Houston هي, Texas.

SpaceX has its star base in that state, in the small town of Boca Chica, although it currently carries out all commercial launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg military space base. There he has his main clients near: NASA and the Pentagon.

Blue Origin is also based in Texas. Virgin Galactic has a location relatively nearby, in neighboring Nevada, under the false and misleading name of Spaceport America (Virgin Galactic Aircraft). Do not go to space No matter how much they try to sell you in the media).

Increase traffic at high altitudes

But – while Branson did not reach space with his stunning silver arrows and Bezos does not reach orbit with a rocket propellant – his latest test flights undoubtedly mark the beginning of a new phase of high-altitude commercial flight. Where the millet will take off regularly to see the earth from a new perspective, with a more or less curve depending on whether they’re flying a SpaceShipTwo or a New Shepard.

Later will follow Elon Musk y su Starship, when it began operations to the moon and Mars. And perhaps on intercontinental flights, too: Musk has announced that he intends to use the Starship as a plane to connect big cities together in an absurd fraction of the time that commercial planes now take.

For all this, the agency will expand its space division with new security inspection personnel. as he says, Simplify licensing and re-entry NS Spend more time on security monitoring and less paperwork.

SDI: Space Traffic Control System

Eventually we will reach a point where there will be no licenses for individual editions. Flights will be regular maybe in a couple of decades, as they are now in commercial aviation. As costs come down — first at premium ticket prices, then business, and eventually, Musk predicts, economy-class prices — the rockets will keep flying.

This will require new monitoring systems around the world. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the first to take a step in this area space data integration. This technology adds launch and entry operations to the existing air traffic control system.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SDI is able to monitor in near real time and alert control units of Car entry and exit windows at high altitude. In their press release, they stated that “this new capability will increase safety for all airspace users and help the FFA efficiently manage traffic during space operations.” We hope so, because in a few years it will take more than “near actual time”.