SpaceX started this ball rolling with word that their BFR Booster and BFS Spaceship were being modded for Earth Point to Point (P2P) transportation. The plan is to have offshore or other safe area platforms and service at orbital speeds; NY to Sydney in about 30 minutes flight time.
Construction of the first BFS Spaceship should begin in a few months at San Pedro, California. The first test hops and short flights (without the booster, it's capable of single stage to orbit) should begin 2019-2020 at their Brownsville spaceport.
Now, the US Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce is getting on board, and other companies are talking about P2P systems. This goes along with the first National Space Council meeting where the US Secretary of Transportation and others showed a high interest in P2P.
Also; FAA has been working on rolling space traffic into the Air Traffic Control system for several years. SpaceX has been testing the hardware by flying it on their Dragon spaceship during ISS cargo runs.
From the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation convention,
Frank Slazer @FSlazer (Aerospace Industries Association)
Great to hear: Jason Kim from Office of Space Commerce: The Missile Technology Control Regime limits some point to point and other new space systems; that needs to be fixed. We want to unshackle industry to innovate! #FAACST2018
3:22 PM - Feb 8, 2018
Construction of the first BFS Spaceship should begin in a few months at San Pedro, California. The first test hops and short flights (without the booster, it's capable of single stage to orbit) should begin 2019-2020 at their Brownsville spaceport.
Now, the US Department of Commerce Office of Space Commerce is getting on board, and other companies are talking about P2P systems. This goes along with the first National Space Council meeting where the US Secretary of Transportation and others showed a high interest in P2P.
Also; FAA has been working on rolling space traffic into the Air Traffic Control system for several years. SpaceX has been testing the hardware by flying it on their Dragon spaceship during ISS cargo runs.
From the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation convention,
Frank Slazer @FSlazer (Aerospace Industries Association)
Great to hear: Jason Kim from Office of Space Commerce: The Missile Technology Control Regime limits some point to point and other new space systems; that needs to be fixed. We want to unshackle industry to innovate! #FAACST2018
3:22 PM - Feb 8, 2018
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