Start Date
13-11-2015 8:30 AM
Abstract
The number of commercial spaceflights will be increasing by orders of magnitude over the next several decades. The current volume of space traffic can be managed on a case-by-case basis and there is little impact to the National Airspace System (NAS). This will change as more spaceports become operational, commercial sub-orbital flight companies begin serving their customers and as the cost of these flights begin to decrease. Current regulatory paths seek to allow the flexibility in the regulations for this industry to flourish while also maintaining a high standard of safety. There are, however, many nearsighted and old fashioned assumptions when considering these regulations.
This paper presents a vision of the future where we add another mode of transportation in our already multi-modal transportation system. Further, this paper presents a case for integrating airports and spaceports, including large hub airports. Included in this vision of integrated airport and spaceport operations will be a discussion on the shortcomings in planned regulatory paths and aspects of commercial space that need to be addressed so the old fashioned methods of regulating spaceflight can be rejected.
Area of Interest
NAS Integration
Included in
Air and Space Law Commons, Multi-Vehicle Systems and Air Traffic Control Commons, Other Aerospace Engineering Commons, Other Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons, Space Vehicles Commons
Sub-orbital Spaceflight – An addition to our multi-modal transportation system
The number of commercial spaceflights will be increasing by orders of magnitude over the next several decades. The current volume of space traffic can be managed on a case-by-case basis and there is little impact to the National Airspace System (NAS). This will change as more spaceports become operational, commercial sub-orbital flight companies begin serving their customers and as the cost of these flights begin to decrease. Current regulatory paths seek to allow the flexibility in the regulations for this industry to flourish while also maintaining a high standard of safety. There are, however, many nearsighted and old fashioned assumptions when considering these regulations.
This paper presents a vision of the future where we add another mode of transportation in our already multi-modal transportation system. Further, this paper presents a case for integrating airports and spaceports, including large hub airports. Included in this vision of integrated airport and spaceport operations will be a discussion on the shortcomings in planned regulatory paths and aspects of commercial space that need to be addressed so the old fashioned methods of regulating spaceflight can be rejected.
Comments
Scott Haeffelin’s Bio