To be able to utilize a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) or rocket in space, you will need to attain a license first by passing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. In the Office of Commercial Space Transportation Regulations, the FAA outlines the safety tests and inspection needed to be able to legally use an RLV in section 431 "Launch and Reentry of a Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)." The FAA needs to know the flight path, location, and dates of launch of the RLV to be able to determine the safety of the flight. Also the FAA would need to be informed of the cargo/payload on the vehicle as well as any emergency procedures.
Here is the link to the SpaceX permits and approval to use their Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy rockets
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/environmental/nepa_docs/review/documents_progress/spacex_texas_launch_site_environmental_impact_statement/media/spacex_eis_rod.pdf
It illustrates the need to go through the government, the amount of safety measures needed to protect the company, the government and everyone in the world in general.
This is the FAA description of the launch site of SpaceX Falcon rockets and their permissible flight zones and the effects it will have on the surrounding environment. The FAA works with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others to determine if the RLV would be fit to be launched and not detrimentally affect the Earth.
In all, the FAA regulates every space agency to make sure that they follow environmental regulations and stay within their allowed locations.
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=e11cee34fe5087a8cba8d252ec7327b3&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:4.0.2.9.14&idno=14
How does the FAA enforce their regulations for launch? Would enforcement involve military defenses :O?
ReplyDeleteI recently heard a brief explanation of revolutionary technology of SpaceX's landing. Other than competitors' spaceships that land on Earth safely but at the location they have not planned, SpaceX lands on Earth both safely and at the intended location. This technology will be most likely to be approved from the government if the SpaceX's calculation to landing to the intended land is accurate.
ReplyDeleteIn my software architecture class, we discussed the dangers of reusing software on newer hardware. These is a classic example of this being a complete disaster in the Therac X ray machine. A programmer used software from an earlier version of a therac machine on a newer version, but didn't account for the hardware differences. The net result is that patients that were exposed to the machine were in some cases dealt lethal doses of radiation, causing several deaths. I imagine the same issue can be applied to your blog when discussing rocket software reusability. Code is frequently reused, and if not done carefully, and result in major disasters.
ReplyDeleteThis was a big question wondering my head for a long time now. I always wondered if any crazy person in the world was just able to design a rocket and try to direct it as far as they could. The same goes to airplanes, do you know if i can get my personal really small plane (if i really could do it) and start just flying around. Space exploration seems like a very small industry, where heavy investment is the key, so of course big security measure must be met as well.
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