FAA’s Shutdown Restrictions on Air Travel Could Affect Space Launches Also

The FAA’s decision to restrict the number of airline flights to ensure the safety of air travel as some air traffic controllers call in sick during the government shutdown could impact space launches, too. Airspace around launch sites must be cleared during launches and reentries so the FAA will limit them to nighttime hours beginning Monday if the shutdown continues.

In an emergency order issued yesterday, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced that due to staffing shortages the number of airline flights would be reduced by 4 percent today and increase up to 10 percent by November 14 if the government doesn’t reopen. Duffy, who is also the Acting Administrator of NASA, said “This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay.”  

Commercial space launches and reentries will be restricted to the hours of 10:00 pm to 6:00 am local time when airspace use is at its lowest.

The order doesn’t impact space launches until Monday and it’s not clear how many might be delayed as a result. Some may get off before the curfew goes into effect and others are scheduled to take place within the allowed window.

On the East Coast, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) had to scrub the Atlas V launch of ViaSat-3 F2 the last two nights because of a booster liquid oxygen tank vent valve issue. A new date hasn’t been announced, but that launch was scheduled for 10:24 pm ET on Wednesday and 10:16 pm ET last night, so it might be able to beat the new curfew if it goes before the window moves too many more minutes closer to 10:00 pm ET.

Blue Origin is getting ready for the second New Glenn launch, NG-2, on Sunday with NASA’s two ESCAPADE Mars cubesats. That’s a daytime launch with the window opening at 2:45 pm ET and hopefully will go as scheduled. Blue Origin will make a second attempt to land the first stage on their off-shore Landing Platform Vessel. The first New Glenn launch was a success, but the landing was not.

SpaceX has multiple launches of Starlink satellites with associated droneship landings from both coasts at various times. In addition, it’s getting ready to launch Transporter 15 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:18 pm Pacific time on Tuesday, November 11. That’s within the approved window local time.

It’s not on SpaceX’s list of upcoming launches at the moment, but ESA says Sentinel-6B is scheduled for November 17 on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg. The time isn’t mentioned. Sentinel-6B is a joint NASA-NOAA-ESA-EUMETSAT radar altimetry mission to measure sea surface height.

Hopefully the shutdown will be resolved by then. Prospects for a deal appeared to be looking up yesterday, but the mood has soured in part because Democrats don’t trust that whatever they may agree to with their Senate colleagues will be upheld by the House or the White House. Some Democrats also want more concessions from Republicans following Tuesday’s favorable election results.

As of press time, Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to try again to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) today, but the outlook isn’t promising. Not only are there the differences between the parties on issues like health care, but the version that passed the House on September 19 and has been defeated in the Senate 14 times has an expiration date of November 21. There’s no point in passing that version. At a minimum, the date has to change and Republicans apparently are not agreed among themselves as to whether to push it to December or January or much later into 2026. Any change at all to the House-passed version means the House has to vote on it again, which they can’t do as long as House Speaker Mike Johnson keeps the House out of session for legislative business.  The House hasn’t met other than in pro forma sessions since September 19.

Both sides in the Senate, at least, seem to want a solution, but the path to finding it remains elusive.  As we frequently say, however, anything can happen in Washington.

The shutdown has lasted 37 days and 14 hours as of press time, the longest in history. Agencies funded through the appropriations process and that do not have other sources of money (like fees or the reconciliation bill) are shut down. Essential personnel, like air traffic controllers, must work without pay. Members of the House and Senate are being paid pursuant to the Constitution, but their staff members are not.