“It is essential that airspace users consider possible interruptions due to launch operations [espaciais]”, said the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a safety alert aimed at commercial airlines and cargo carriers.
The document, prepared in conjunction with the North American Department of Transportation, requires operators to integrate monitoring of falling space debris into flight plans.
To date, there is no record of aircraft hit by this type of object. With the new guideline, the FAA requires airlines to start working with large companies in the aerospace sector to prevent incidents from occurring.
“It is essential that airspace users consider possible interruptions due to launch operations [espaciais],” they wrote.
The FAA and Air Traffic Control have been implementing airspace restrictions and risk mitigation measures, when necessary, as a way to protect aircraft from possible dangers associated with anomalies during launches.
Currently, the aviation sector operates in parallel with companies like SpaceX, which frequently carry out space launches. Still, it is important to emphasize that this does not mean that aircraft will have to dodge falling space objects, as if they were in a science fiction film.
The regulatory agency’s concern is much more practical: reducing risks. Space launches have been carried out since the 1950s, but the number of objects sent into space has increased dramatically and, consequently, the risks for planes have also increased.
It is worth remembering an incident that occurred in 2025, when a SpaceX space launch ended in an explosion and affected flights in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. No aircraft were hit, but there were relevant impacts on flight planning.
