Sleepwalking into risk: managing traffic above 60,000 feet

Written by Mathew Lewallen Monday, 28 July 2025 12:00

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Researchers monitor a simulation of an Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM) system in NASA’s Airspace Operations Laboratory. In a 2024 demonstration, data from multiple high-altitude vehicles, a solar-powered UAV and a stratospheric balloon, were shared in real time on such screens, allowing the vehicles to autonomously maintain separation without traditional ATC control.

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The stratosphere is no longer empty. High-altitude platform and suborbital spaceplane operations are booming, yet our management of “near-space” remains stuck in the last century. We cannot afford to postpone solutions until after a catastrophe. Instead, we must embed new approaches now! High-altitude platforms (HAPs), like stratospheric balloons, solar-powered drones and airships and suborbital space […]

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