The Comercial Space Industry

     Is Commercial Space Tourism a viable industry ? Over the past few years a growing level of professional work has been done on the subject and it's now clear that setting up commercial space tourism services is a realistic target for business today. However there are reports that space tourism will be utterly disappointing. Joseph Stromberg wrote an article on August 20, 2015 about how billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have poured tons of money into building and developing vehicles for space tourism and it seems close to happening in the next few years but the catch is, their plans merely involve flights into suborbital space technically crossing the 100 kilometer line considered the lower boundary of space to give fliers a few minutes of weightlessness. He also compared the price (about $250,000 right now) to taking a brief zero gravity flight called the "vomit comet" for $5,000. Lastly, he brings up the issue of the mass transportation of people up into space. John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute said, "we've been launching people into space for 54 years now, and less than 600 people have made the trip. I think the idea that there's some magic bullet that could open up orbital space to large numbers of people is an illusion".
     Between 1963 and 1982, U.S expendable launch vehicle (ELV) manufacturers produced vehicles only under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Department of Defense (DOD). In the early 1970s when private companies and foreign governments purchased communication satellites, they had to contract with NASA to launch their payloads. The U.S government essentially served as the only provider for space launch services to the western world. In the late 1970s the U.S government decided to phase out all ELVs  except one (scout) in favor of the U.S space shuttle. The shuttle would take all U.S satellites into orbit. In 1982, the first successful private launch in the United States took place - a test launch for the space services' prototype Conestoga rocket. The procedures required to gain approval for that launch, however, proved time-consuming and led to the introduction of legislation to make it easier for companies to pursue=e commercial launch activities. The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 as amended and re-codified as 51 U.S.C 50901-50923, authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) and through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA)  Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), to oversee, authorize and regulate both launches and reentry of launch and reentry vehicles and the operation of launch and reentry sites when carried out by U.S citizens or within the United States. The Act directs the FAA to exercise this responsibility consistent with public health and safety, safety of property and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. The Act also encourages the FAA to encourage, facilitate and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector, including those involving space flight participants.
     I think the prospect of space tourism is really exciting but unfortunately I don't see it being accessible to the general public in my lifetime. I think there would be a lot of hurdles to overcome before we're able to convince the general public that space travel is safe and can be done several times and at an affordable price as well. I'm also interested to see how the rest of the world reacts to it and how the competition for space travel evolves worldwide. I don't think space travel will be just another means of transportation, it'll be something that you plan to do with your entire family one time in your lifetime and if your lucky or rich enough maybe a few times. NASA would have to develop a space vehicle that can be used more than a few times, this will help reduce the price for the general public. They'll have to convince the general public that space travel is something that's achievable on a normal consistent basis. Also, I wonder how it will affect normal transportation on earth and if it'll increase the economic distance between the upper class, middle class and lower class. I just think there's a lot to consider before or if we get there. I don't know what you have to do to be an astronaut these days or to work in the space tourism industry but I'm sure it's not easy.

REFERENCES

Stromberg, Joseph. After the Virgin Galactic crash, does space tourism still have a future?  https://www.vox.com/2014/11/4/7149465/space-tourism-virgin-future 

Stromberg, Joseph. Why space tourism is going to be utterly disappointing.  https://www.vox.com/2015/8/20/9181909/space-tourism-cost  

https://www.faa.gov/about/history/milestones/media/commercial_space_industry.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/

       

The Current Status of UAVs

     The UAVs are very popular these days with everyone, from military people to civilians. Kids love them, use them for fun and recreational purposes. Youtubers, cinematographers, and photographers use them often to capture new exciting angles and give their work something extra. Aviation enthusiasts love to fly them, to pass time or for those who for some reason can't qualify for a pilot's certificate. And of course businesses use them for commercial purposes. It put's them out there, makes them deliver services of good faster and people like that. Because of actual aircrafts flying in different air spaces there has to be rules for manned and unmanned to coexist. So to use a small unmanned aircraft for recreational, commercial, governmental, or other purposes it has to be registered under Part 107 of the regulations. These regulations include operational limitations like maximum weight, time of operation, speed and altitude, area or airspace in which it can be operated with and without ATC clearance, weather minimums, how and who can operate or supervise operation of the unmanned aircraft. I should say there is a waiver process, which provides flexibility to existing regulations. Part 107.200(a) states, "The administrator may a certificate of waiver authorizing a deviation from any regulation specified in Part 107.205 *List of regulations subject to waiver* if the administrator finds that a proposed small UAV operation can safely be conducted under the terms of that certificate of waiver". This allows a UAV operator to propose an operation that is not permitted under Part 107.
     Unmanned aircrafts are operated in countries across the globe, they're big in Europe but my focus is on its use in Africa. In early 2018, Tanzania's government began using drones to deliver medical supplies such as blood and vaccines to remote areas. The government expects to save lives thanks to faster delivery of medical supplies. Prior, Rwanda launched a drone delivery program with zipline. They've made well over 1,400 similar deliveries.
     Integrating UAVs into the NAS is something I see happening in the future. The fact that UAVs introduce a unique element into the National Airspace and present the risk of collision with other aircrafts and other civil airspace users in not new. Dating back to June 1981, the FAA published an Advisory Circular (AC) entitled "Notice of Policy for Unmanned Aircraft Systems". More recently, to mitigate the risk of an accident or incident between UAVs and other traffic in the NAS, the FAA has authorized a series of guidelines to determine if the UAVs may be allowed to conduct flight operations in the NAS. Specifically, it established a dedicated unmanned aircraft program office in December 2005 to serve as the organization's focal point for unmanned aviation policies and standards. My point is there have been measures in place for a long time to try to make this happen so it's highly probably that it will happen. Although, the challenges to make it happen are great. To mention a few, the struggle of an airline pilot to see and avoid these small UAVs, ATCs ability to safely direct every aircraft through the airspaces especially without RADAR or NextGen technology. The accident rate for UAVs is higher than for conventional aircraft. A significant proportion of these accidents are associated with human error. I think, if the the UAVs are to be permitted to be operated in the NAS, it'll be necessary to understand the human factors associated with these vehicles. Also the public perception, which historically carries a lot of weight, is yet to be seen. How they view the development now and how they'll react should there be an accident or incident.
     As far as  the military is concerned, I think the introduction of UAVs has transformed their strategies. Stealth being a huge one for me. Conducting operations, surveillance and reconnaissance undetected gives them an advantage over the enemies. I believe their introduction has been successful considering the money and manpower it would take to conduct such operation. And about all, you can't put an amount of money on a life lost so if the drones keep men and women that serve out of harms way or at least reduces that risk then that's a certain success.
     UAV Jobs: https://www.indeed.com/q-Uav-jobs.html & https://www.indeed.com/q-Pilot-Uav-jobs.html
   

REFERENCES

Herwitz, Stanley R. PhD, Hobbs, Alan PhD. Human Factors in the Maintenance of Unmanned Aircraft

McFarland, Matt. East Africa is leading the world in drone delivery. money.cnn.com

Ravich, Timothy M. The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace.

Shoffet, Daniel. Drone Intergration: A Pilot's Solution to a Serious Entertainment Problem, 33J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 1 (2016)  

Zeigler, Brad. The Part 107 Waiver Process and Airspace Authorizations.

      

Should Cargo Carriers Be Exempt From Flight/Duty Changes ?

     The Department of Transportation identified the issue of pilot fatigue as a top priority during the 2009 airline Safety Call to Action following the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407. The FAA launched an aggressive effort to take advantage of the latest research on fatigue to create a new pilot flight, duty and rest proposal which the agency issued on September 10, 2010. According to the FAA press release page on their website the key components of the final rule for commercial passenger flights includes varying flight and duty requirements based on what time the pilot's day begins. It incorporates the latest fatigue science to set different requirements for pilot flight time, duty period and rest based on the time of the day pilots begin their first flights, the number of scheduled flight segments and the number of time zones they cross. The previous rule included different rest requirements for domestic, international and unscheduled flights. Those differences were not necessarily consistent across different types of passenger flights and did not take into account factors such as start time and time zone crossings.
     The new rule also addressed flight duty period which includes deadhead transportation, training in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport standby or reserve duty if these tasks occur before a flight or between flights without an intervening rest period. The old rule only accounted for the time a pilot is actually in the cockpit flying. The rule set a 10-hour minimum rest period prior to the flight duty period, a 2-hour increase over the old rule. The new rule also addressed potential cumulative fatigue by placing weekly and 28-day limits on the amount of time a pilot may be assigned any type of flight duty. It also places 28-day and annual limits on actual flight time and requires that pilots have at least 30 consecutive hours free from duty on a weekly basis, a 25% increase over the old rules. The FAA expects pilots and airlines to take joint responsibility when considering if a pilot is fit for duty, including fatigue resulting from pre-duty activities such as commuting. An airline may also develop an alternative way of mitigating fatigue based on science and using data that must be validated by the FAA and continuously monitored.
     The estimated cost of this rule to the aviation industry is $297 million but the benefits are estimated between $247 - $470 million. Covering cargo operation under this new rule will be too costly compared to the benefits generated in this portion of the industry. Some cargo airlines already have improved rest facilities for pilots. The FAA encourages cargo operators to opt into the new rule voluntarily, which will require them to comply with all of its provisions. Again, you can read more of all this information on the FAA website under press releases. All flight and duty limitations for cargo carriers can be found in the Federal Aviation Regulations Aeronautical  Information Manual (FAR AIM) 2018 under PART 117 starting on page 325.
     Like I said above one of the reasons that cargo carriers have been excluded from the new changes is because it's not financially profitable for the industry. The cost to implementing this for the cargo carriers is too high and the benefit or return is low. I think it's really that simple but other things like the fact that there aren't passengers involved so there's no "public perception" to worry about and that accidents associated with cargo carriers usually don't have anything to do with fatigue might also play a small role in all this. I think cargo carriers have been given a choice to be included and it's up to them to make that choice. I think like most passenger airlines, cargo airlines also have alternative ways of mitigating fatigue. If the cargo carrier can afford to be included then by all means, they should but keep in mind also that one big reason for this new rule is that it brings back a profit for passenger airlines and the FAA didn't make it mandatory for cargo airlines because they weren't going to make a profit on it. So the real question is, why should the cargo carriers want to be included in the new rule if they're not gaining from it like the rest of the industry is ?
     From a managerial perspective, I think it makes scheduling a bit more difficult. Maybe reinforces the shortage of pilots, but I don't honestly see it affecting the careers of dispatchers, air traffic controllers or administrative staff.

REFERENCES

https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=13272

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/part-117