Space Is Open for Business: The Industry That Can Transform Humanity

by Robert C. Jacobson

Integrating spaceflight with commercial airliners in our airspace is one issue growing more ominous by the day. Airlines already push back when it comes to sharing that airspace, which is increasingly limited and congested. On June 29, 2018, over two hundred thousand flights flew, which was the highest number of aircraft flights in a single day, as tracked by Swedish tracking company FlightRadar24.2 July 29, 2019 saw 225,000 flights, setting a new record. With air traffic at an all-time high and increasing by the year, it is crucial to create solutions that allow spacecraft and aircraft to coexist safely and effectively. We need new software that integrates with air traffic control (which is currently unable to connect to other data sources). Effectively streamlining the communication between these two industries will be imperative to enable safe scheduling, quicker launch turnaround, and higher launch frequency. On a global scale, it will be impossible to resolve the growing airspace problems without international diplomacy.