World’s first space airport is taking shape—What happens next?

The need for having the world’s first space airport has become the need of the hour as NASA and other space agencies are planning permanent lunar habitations and a spaceport.

Given the ambitious plan to expand the footprint on the Moon, the space will become congested with spacecraft, astronauts, and cargo, thereby necessitating a new system for air traffic control.

A new study by experts from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Texas A&M, and Purdue universities proposes a flight manual and mathematical rules to help multiple spacecraft safely share the area between Earth and the Moon.

"The future of lunar exploration depends as much on traffic management as it does on rocket science," said Diane Davis, associate professor of space engineering at the Texas A&M University College of Engineering, and an author of the study.

The plan will be based on “celestial highway”, depending on gravity. Spacecraft and Gateway will travel along a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO).

Speaking about the features, this is a nearly stable and highly elongated orbit influenced by competing gravities of moon and Earth. It will provide uninterrupted communication with Earth using minimal propellant.

The findings are laid out in the upcoming research paper "Cislunar traffic management: Orbit maintenance and loitering in the Gateway NRHO" in the journal Acta Astronautica.

Researchers also used computer simulations to identify navigation errors and thruster issues, finding that small, increased maneuvers can keep parked vehicles safely spaced out while efficiently using resources.

The plan is not bereft of challenges as the complexity of NRHO can cause spacecraft to swing widely while making traffic management difficult when multiple crewed and uncrewed vessels are involved.

Researchers also propose spacecraft loitering more like a park used for spacecrafts awaiting their time to land, sometimes waiting for weeks in a constantly moving, high-risk environment.