Airspace Integration in an Era of Growing Launch Operations

Accommodating space launches in the National Airspace System (NAS) is burdensome, but at historical launch rates it is manageable. However, it is expected that launch rates will increase substantially, with the preponderance of that increase coming from commercial customers. This will require better integration of space launch activities in the NAS. This paper presents the issues and highlights potential conflicts between the “space side” and the “air side” that may call for intervention from high-level decisionmakers.

Author: Rob Unverzagt