Unseen threats overhead: Drones endanger U.S. rocket launch sites

One small, errant drone can scrub a space launch at the cost of millions of dollars in delays, with further repercussions spanning across multiple commercial and government launch service providers. Just a single drone, with no malicious intent, could force range safety officers to abort the mission to protect the billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure, spacecraft and cargo. This is the reality facing our nation’s launch ranges today, and the threat is getting more sophisticated by the month. To protect America’s launch infrastructure, we need better situational awareness, proper response plans and an updated legal framework to respond to drone interference with space launch.