The Federal Aviation Administration has established a set of factors to provide equal access to airspace near space launch sites.
The agency on Thursday published a list of considerations to objectively determine when to prioritize commercial space operations, and commercial and military aviation.
In the event of a space launch, FAA will take into account the number of flights and/or passengers that will be affected, as well as the time, location and window duration of the space mission. The agency is calling on the commercial space operators to schedule their launches at night to avoid peak airline flight hours.
Priority will be given to space missions with national security or national interest objectives, as well as those for payload transportation.
Holidays, military exercises and other significant events that cause congestion in the national airspace system will also be considered by the FAA.
The agency plans to mobilize its new Airspace Access Priorities Aviation Rulemaking Committee in June to build on its guidelines and tools for fair and equitable airspace access.
