For decades, established airspace has been used for space travel. However, drones and flying cars are relatively new additions.
A collaboration between Joby and SK Telecom has been announced to bring environmentally-friendly aerial ridesharing options to South Korea.
The development of rockets has been a collaborative effort between FAA, NASA, and the military over many years. Military operations have utilized large drones for long-range attacks for over ten years. The use of smaller unmanned aerial systems increased in popularity around the year 2015. While flying cars have been depicted in cartoons for decades, they are now a reality in today’s world.
The progress of aviation moves at a rapid pace. The incorporation of technology requires a significant amount of time, careful strategizing, and coordinated governing policies.
For many years, there has been significant progress in the field of flight and space technology. Currently, it is advancing at an even faster pace than what even futurists could have predicted. The collaboration between America’s industry, NASA, and the FAA has led to discussions about the use of our national airspace, specifically regarding space operations, drone deployment, and the development of flying cars. During recent meetings of the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), they have been exploring ways to integrate space exploration, drones, and electric vertical take-off and landing (vTOL) taxis into our national airspace. In the next decade, these new players in the National Air Space (NAS) will be able to travel to and from space, as well as provide inspections and delivery services at altitudes under 400 feet.
During the recent Air Traffic Controllers convention, there were extensive talks about the direction of unmanned and space programs. These programs have been stagnant for the past six years. While NASA has been making progress in unmanned air management, the FAA has been overly focused on researching unmanned systems. This bureaucratic process will likely impede the advancement of unmanned systems and future space endeavors.
In addition to airplanes, our skies will also become home to rockets, drones, and flying cars, expanding the possibilities of the wild blue yonder.
In the past, our skies were occupied solely by commercial and private aviation, but now we must also accommodate millions of UAS and drones in the NAS. This number is expected to increase from the current 200,000 registered planes, according to Statista. While the FAA has implemented an air traffic control system for commercial and private aviation, it is not equipped to handle the rapid growth of space development and the rise of low-flying unmanned aerial systems. As technology continues to advance, this issue is becoming more pressing.
The quantity of rockets, drones, and airborne vehicles is rapidly increasing. In the next ten years, a single US space company will have launched more satellites than the total number of launches worldwide since Sputnik. Additionally, millions more drones will be utilized for inspecting roofs, telephone lines, cattle fencing, farms, and skyscrapers. Moreover, the sky may become occupied with flying cars and taxis.
Currently, the main goal of the FAA is to establish updated regulations that will permit the use of UAS for operations involving people. In the past, regulations were created for individual aerial platforms. However, with the increasing number of operational drones, regulations now need to be performance-based and applicable to millions of drones. It is crucial to share safety information and remove any economic obstacles for unmanned aviation. Additionally, NASA has been developing Unmanned Traffic Control to seamlessly integrate with traditional air traffic control systems that support commercial aviation.
The panels deliberated on the global changes and their rapid adoption
On September 8, 2016, the first captive carry flight of the Virgin Spaceship Unity and Virgin Mothership Eve was launched into the sky.
There are certain areas of technology that are not progressing at the desired pace for various industries. One such area is the radio spectrum, which has limitations that have already caused issues with aircraft command and control as well as the implementation of 5G phones. These difficulties have hindered the launch of significant telecommunications projects. Additionally, the constraints of the spectrum may also impact developments in the UAS field.
Regrettably, the FAA is not equipped to handle the evolving realm of space and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is necessary for us to establish new, specialized organizations to address these developments.
In the future, there will be multiple entities responsible for managing airspace above 50,000 feet for various space programs. Another organization will be necessary to oversee the operations of low-level UAVs under 400 to 500 feet. With the increasing number of UAVs in the sky, the FAA’s current management of commercial, consumer, and cargo aircraft is already facing challenges. Properly handling each level of air and space traffic control will be a daunting task, especially in areas where they intersect.