WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2021) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a press release that it has activated a new system to track space launch and re-entry vehicles.
"The US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can now track a space launch or reentry vehicle in near-real time as it travels through the National Airspace System," the FAA said on Thursday.
The FAA said this new tracking system, called the Space Data Integrator, will help manage air traffic during space operations.
The tracking system became operational with the June 30 launch of the SpaceX Transponder 2 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the state of Florida and will be used again in the upcoming re-entry of the SpaceX CRS-22 Dragon vehicle carrying cargo from the International Space Station, which is expected to happen late Friday night.
The FAA said it managed 45 space launches and re-entries in 2020, the most in the agency's history, but it expects that number could exceed 70 this year.
