FAA: New tool limits disruptions caused by space operations

Every time a rocket takes off or a space vehicle returns to Earth, it can cause airline flights to be routed around the space operation

Federal regulators said Thursday they now can better track rocket launches and space vehicles returning to Earth, which could cut the amount of time that airplanes must be routed around space operations. The Federal Aviation Administration said a new tool automates the near-instantaneous delivery of data about a space vehicle's flight path to the nation's air traffic control system. The tool, called the Space Data Integrator, will replace a system in which much of the work of giving telemetry data about space vehicles to air traffic control managers is done manually. Elon Musk's SpaceX was the first company to share flight telemetry data with the FAA, and others including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have since joined the program, according to the FAA.