CAAS shelves proposed Singapore space balloon launch

Blame it on dense air traffic.

A local company’s plans to launch a space balloon on home soil were scrapped by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore today, citing safety and traffic concerns.

The plan to launch a space balloon in time with the 50th National Day was first proposed by tech startup In.Genius in 2013.

CAAS stated that given the high density of air traffic in Singapore’s skies and of the populace, space
balloon flights cannot be launched from Singapore due to safety risks to aircraft in the Singapore Flight Information Region (FIR), as well as to lives and property on the ground.

“A space balloon has limited steering capability, moves at a relatively slow speed, and is highly affected by environmental conditions such as winds. As such, it may drift from its desired flight path. As the balloon cannot be steered, its flight poses a safety risk to other aircraft. To maintain a safety buffer, aircraft will have to be diverted away from a large zone around the balloon’s flight path. This will require closure of the affected airspace for prolonged periods, causing severe disruption to civilian air traffic. Hundreds of flights and hundreds of thousands of passengers could be adversely affected,” the CAAS stated.

Another concern is the jettisoning of 500kg of ballast, which poses a “significant danger to persons and property on the ground”.