Striking A Balance Between Safety and Scrubs

Commercial launch providers and consumers of launch services are seeking greater efficiency in launch operations to maximize profits, but cascading disruption is likely to be the new normal. Commercial aviation also suffers when canceled launches result in additional airspace closures. Avoiding unnecessary canceled launches would save resources and help maintain crucial launch campaign schedules. However, dated weather sensors and methods result in some weather-related scrubs, which are unnecessary. This paper presents a short-term solution for improving the ability of space launch ranges to meet the growing demand by addressing the third leading cause of launch cancellations.

Authors: Sylvia Kohn-Rich, Lina Cashin, and Grant Cates