FAA post flight restrictions around Cape Canaveral for historic manned space launch

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued multiple Notice to Airmen (NOTAMS) Temporary Flight Restrictions around Cape Canaveral, Fla., through Wednesday.

The NOTAMS are in preparation for NASA’s historic manned space flight to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. This is the first launch of astronauts to Earth orbit on an American-built spacecraft from American soil since 2011.

“The FAA’s role is to ensure the safety of the airspace by prohibiting all aircraft operations within 30 nautical miles of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center during the reported timeframe unless the operation is exempted,” the agency said on Tuesday. “There are three types of NOTAMs: airspace, to close the airspace near the launch; flow, to provide route guidance to aviation operators; and security, to implement security measures for aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the area."

Aircraft operations involving UAS, flight training, aerobatic, glider, seaplane, parachute, ultralight, hang gliding, balloon, agriculture/crop dusting and more are prohibited. 

Pilots who do not comply with the requirements, special instructions or procedures in the NOTAM may be intercepted, detained by law enforcement, and subjected to any of the following additional actions: 

• Civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of airmen certificates; or  
• Criminal charges, including charges under Title 49 of the United States Code, Section 46307; or  
• The U.S. Government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft, if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat.

NASA's next spacecraft going to Mars

NASA's next spacecraft going to Mars arrived Friday at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and is now perched in a clean room to begin final preparations for its Nov. 18 launch.

The spacecraft was transported from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., on Friday, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colo., designed and built the spacecraft and is responsible for testing, launch processing, and mission operations.

Known as MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution), the spacecraft is undergoing detailed testing and fueling prior to being moved to the launch pad.

MAVEN will conduct the first mission dedicated to surveying the upper atmosphere of Mars. Scientists expect to obtain unprecedented data that will help them understand how the loss of atmospheric gas to space may have played a part in changing the planet's climate. Previous Mars missions detected energetic solar fields and particles that could drive atmospheric gases away from Mars. Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a planet-wide magnetic field that would deflect these solar winds. As a result, these winds may have stripped away much of Mars' atmosphere. Scientists will use MAVEN data to project how Mars became the cold, dusty desert planet we see today. The planned one-year mission begins with the spacecraft entering the Red Planet's orbit in September 2014.

In the next week, the team will reassemble components previously removed for transport. Further checks prior to launch will include software tests, spin balance tests, and test deployments of the spacecraft's solar panels and booms.

MAVEN's principal investigator, Bruce Jakosky, is based at the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. The university provides science instruments and leads science operations, education and public outreach. Goddard Space Flight Center manages the project and provides two of the science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The University of California at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory provides science instruments for the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., provides navigation support, Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.

Receive DCNewsroom email alerts, subscribe here.