FAA starts considering private space travel rules

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15852156?nclick_check=1

Private space travel is expected to take off in the next couple of years, and aviation officials and industry officials hope to have figured out by then how to keep a space rocket out of the way of an airline jet, how to prepare passengers for flight and other logistical matters.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced this week a partnership with universities and industry groups to address those challenges facing commercial space transportation.

"If the plans of people like Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic are accurate, in the next three to five years there will be very frequent space tourism launches," said Scott Hubbard, a professor of astronautics and aeronautics at Stanford University.

"That means you've got to clear the air space and if it's very frequent you've got to be sure to manage that together with airplanes going by," he said.