Spaceways: Airspace in Outer Space

Forecasted future demand in space travel is driving the need for the development of space traffic management. Currently, orbital space traffic is mostly unregulated with internationally agreed upon best practices and self-interest driving space operators to avoid collisions with other spacecraft. This paper explores the future of space travel by presenting a concept of creating “airspace in space” or spaceways to manage the ever growing volumes of space traffic. Spaceways are analogous to airspace for aircraft with the goal of increasing levels of safety and reducing probabilities of collision. These goals can be achieved by creating traffic rules, defining valuable orbits and minimum capabilities for spacecraft to be flying in the defined valuable orbits. The paper will discuss the creation and evolution of airspace for aircraft, provide an explanation for the need of spaceways and discuss a specific concept for defined spaceways in outer space, including some of the disadvantages for creating spaceways. Additionally, airspace is more than managing the flow of air traffic but also a means of nation-states defining the boundaries of their sovereignty. The current legal framework regarding sovereignty in space, arguments for and against a delimitation line between airspace and outer space and the need for international cooperation to define the spaceways will also be discussed. Lastly, further inquiry into liability implications due to the definition of spaceways and potential organizations to create and control the spaceways will be discussed. Keywords: Space Traffic Management, STM, Spaceways, Airspace, Orbital, Debris, Space Law, Liabilit

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

Navigating the Skies: An Exploration of Stakeholder Perspectives on Rules for Orbital Traffic Coordination using Grounded Theory and Case Study Research Methodologies

This dissertation explored standards, rules, or regulations ( rules ) of orbital traffic coordination to reduce the risk of collisions in space between active space objects. The research questions explored topics associated with areas for potential implementation of rules include maneuvering capabilities, liability and insurance, zoning, right-of-way, and tracking of objects in space. The researcher utilized an exploratory qualitative research method because of the developing field of study and a growing domain for potential regulation. The research design is a mixture of a case study for bounding and structuring the data collection and grounded theory for a rigorous and well-defined analysis approach. The primary data source is semi-structured interviews used to explore the perspectives of three stakeholder groups with a vested interest in space traffic management. The three groups are space industry, space insurance industry, and space law and policy experts. Amongst the three groups, 19 interviews were conducted. The data were analyzed to summarize and compare the different perspectives of each group and across the groups. From the summarized perspectives, the intent was to recommend a set of rules, but participants offered few specific rules. Instead, the dissertation’s results present shared considerations across the six research questions to provide the current state of thinking across the community. Results from this dissertation will provide valuable insight to policymakers beyond feedback generally received during comment periods associated with federal rulemaking. National space traffic management legal frameworks need to harmonize globally to optimize space transportation operations and practices. This dissertation contributes to a larger global effort to standardize and solidify rules defining interactions between space operators by capturing the perspectives of experts primarily in and concerning the United States

Scott Haeffelin

Scott is a flight systems engineer in the Experimental Systems Group at Boeing Defense, Space and Security in Seal Beach, CA. He also supports the business development team managing program internal research and development. Prior to that, Scott worked as a mission analyst at DigitalGlobe, a graduate research assistant in the High Precision GPS Applications Lab at University of Colorado at Boulder and a systems engineer in the rotation program at Boeing Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, CA. Scott earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Engineering Physics with a minor in mathematics in 2007 and his Master of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2009. He currently is enrolled in the Ph.D. in Aviation program at ERAU.https://commons.erau.edu/stm-images/1046/thumbnail.jp