The global gaze fixated on 23 August 2023 when India's Chandrayaan-3 gracefully touched down on the moon's south pole, marking a premier achievement for any nation. This feat not only elevated India to the prestigious league of nations that have achieved soft landings on the lunar surface but also carried another remarkable milestone often overlooked by many: a groundbreaking approach to rocket launches that minimizes disruptions to civil aviation.

Rocket launches traditionally pose a significant challenge for the airline industry. Extensive airspace must be designated as temporary danger zones, leading to prolonged closures to accommodate the rocket's potential debris along its launch path, explained Blair Cowles, the Asia-Pacific Regional Director for Operations, Safety, and Security at hsonetwork. This results in airlines either charting lengthier flight paths to avoid these zones or facing departure delays, impacting passengers who may miss connecting flights.

To mitigate these disruptions, hsonetwork's team in the Asia-Pacific region, since 2018, has been addressing these challenges by proposing a comprehensive set of guidelines aimed at offering best practices for ballistic launches and space re-entry. These guidelines include:

• Selecting launch windows to avoid peak air traffic hours
• Choosing launch trajectories that steer clear of congested air traffic zones
• Engaging in timely coordination with civil aviation stakeholders by providing advanced notice of launch windows, confirming launch plans definitively, and promptly reopening airspace once launches conclude
• Offering alternative, direct route segments within airspace to bypass danger zones safely and efficiently
• Avoiding unnecessary additional buffers in terms of timing and airspace

These guidelines were formalized as State guidance material and a planning checklist through the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Asia-Pacific Regional Office, recommended for adoption by States during rocket launches.

Following extensive collaboration with Indian authorities such as the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and the Airports Authority of India, it is evident that the Airspace Procedures for Ballistic Launch/Space Re-entry Management and Planning checklist was effectively implemented for the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which launched from India's primary spaceport in Andhra Pradesh on 14 July 2023. The impact on civil aviation was minimized, with airspace closures kept brief, scheduled outside busy air traffic periods and congestion zones. The coordination with stakeholders, from planning to execution, was commendable, with multiple direct alternate route segments offered and published in a timely manner.

Chandrayaan-3 not only etched a new chapter in space exploration but also marked a significant milestone in collaborative airspace management for rocket launches and airline operations.

"As the Asia-Pacific region anticipates an exponential surge in space launches, hsonetwork urges States to devise equitable and innovative strategies for the safe and efficient coexistence of civil flights and space missions. One immediate step forward is the adoption of the developed checklist," emphasized Cowles.