Overview
- An FAA emergency order limits licensed launches and reentries to 10 p.m.–6 a.m. local time beginning Nov. 10, with no stated end date.
- The agency cites unpredictable absences and fatigue among unpaid air traffic controllers that are stressing the National Airspace System and increasing risk.
- The curfew is part of broader measures that also reduce commercial airline flights at 40 major airports by up to 10% to ease controller workload.
- Near-term launches are being reassessed: a Nov. 10 Falcon 9 Starlink mission and other Falcon 9 flights could be constrained or seek waivers, Blue Origin’s Nov. 9 New Glenn can fly if it stays on schedule, and ULA’s ViaSat-3 F2 may still fit late-night windows.
- The FAA says restrictions are temporary and can be modified at an operator’s request, some NASA or Defense-authorized missions may be outside FAA licensing, Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launches are unaffected, and roughly 15,000 NASA employees are currently unpaid.