The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) recently released a whitepaper highlighting the challenges that growth in commercial space operations pose to the national airspace system, with an emphasis placed on air-traffic management.
Space operations and commercial aviation share the national airspace system, and both rely on efficient and safe access.
Aspects of the whitepaper, Safe Integration of Commercial Space Operations into the U.S. National Airspace System and Beyond, was presented Thursday at a one-day conference hosted by ALPA and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
“ALPA’s vision for the integration of commercial space moves from accommodation of space activities, which we have today, to better interoperability via data exchange, improved coordination, and situational awareness in the near to mid-term,” ALPA President Capt. Joe DePete said. “With additional investment in communications, surveillance, air traffic control automation, and development of new procedures and separation standards, along with achievement of spacecraft design-assurance standards and operator and crew certification, ALPA sees a long-term future where space operators are able to file-and-fly like any other operator in the airspace, with separation standards and a harmonized safety approach.”
The aviation and commercial space industries can work together and approach safely integrating commercial spaceflight into airspace using a data-driven, risk-predictive, DePete said.