The FAA Is Warning Airlines To Plan For Dodging Space Debris

In early January 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation put out a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) warning that, as both commercial and government-led space launch gets more common, airlines and cargo lines should account for space-born debris in their flight plans. As stated in the SAFO, "It is imperative that airspace users account for potential disruptions due to launch operations. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) implements airspace restrictions and hazard mitigation measures to protect aircraft from potential hazards due to launch anomalies."

This might sound fantastical, and you might be picturing a Boeing 737 MAX jet dodging falling space debris as if Han Solo from Star Wars was in the cockpit. However, the reality is a little more mundane than that. Essentially, airlines now just have to work with companies like SpaceX, which launches a lot of rockets, and NASA to figure out the safest flight paths for everyone involved. 

Sure, space operations have been around since the 1950s, but the number of objects launched into space has risen dramatically in recent years. In addition to rocket launches, there are also many important satellites launched into space each year. Notices like these can help reduce the risks of anything else that takes to the skies being disrupted by space debris.

This has happened before. While federal authorities originally predicted that SpaceX operations in Texas would have minimal impact on commercial or civil aviation, a report from ProPublica found that a failed SpaceX launch in January 2025 caused significant flight disruptions around Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. No planes were hit with falling debris, but that debris did cause disruptions that made pilots reroute, leading to delays. In fact, as of this writing, there have been no confirmed cases of a commercial aircraft being struck by space debris. Here's hoping the risk of that happening is reduced even more by notices like this from the FAA.