Tag:FAA
The New Space Race: Data Centers in Orbit
Data centers have taken up permanent residence both around the world and in the news. Nearly 4,000 data centers exist throughout the United States, consuming a staggering 312.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025 alone. For context, one TWh can power 90,000 homes annually. Despite their expansion across the U.S., data centers are highly controversial. As data centers continue to appear throughout the country and expend exorbitant amounts of energy, tech giants, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman, have begun brainstorming an extraterrestrial alternative: launch networks of data centers into low orbit. At the current moment, an incomplete patchwork of federal regulations and international treaties govern the development and execution of orbital data centers. Together, the international community must work to establish a clear set of regulatory guidelines that ensure the environment is safeguarded from social, environmental, and geopolitical degradation.
Roadside Service in the Final Frontier: The Compliance Void in On-Orbit Servicing
In 2024, a Japanese commercial satellite maneuvered to within 15 meters of a derelict piece of debris floating in low Earth orbit, a feat never accomplished by a private company – until now. Astroscale Holdings, operating under a contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), executed a precise series of approach maneuvers around a completely unresponsive object. This was a genuine technological milestone in the commercial space industry, and just a preview of an entire industry that existing legal frameworks were not built to govern or foresee.
Are Forum Selection Clauses the New Mandatory Arbitration Agreements?
In recent years, employment contracts have become increasingly laden with procedural clauses that dramatically shape where and how disputes are resolved. While mandatory arbitration agreements that require private dispute resolution remain common, employers are increasingly turning to forum selection and choice of law clauses as an alternative or supplement. The questions are whether these clauses are functionally becoming the new mandatory arbitration agreements, and whether they hide compliance traps that both employers and employees should be paying attention to.
Clearing the Air: The Need for Federal Limits on Private Jet Usage
As the planet grapples with the alarming effects of climate change, a glaring disparity emerges: while everyday Americans are held accountable for their environmental impact, the ultra-wealthy continue to fly under the radar in their private jets. This contradiction highlights the urgent need for change in the approach to private air travel and its contribution to global warming. If society truly cares about the planet’s future, regulatory bodies need to stop turning a blind eye and hold those who are contributing to the same standard.
Boeing’s Missteps Lead to Heavier Congressional Oversight
Boeing’s controversial history including the publicized suicide of one of its whistleblowers shortly before his deposition to TikTok videos of panels blowing off mid-air or planes catching fire have prompted public scrutiny. These events, mainly the latter, have raised also questions about Boeing’s compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations the Department of Justice (DOJ) rulings. However, this is not the first time these concerns have come to light.
Turbulent Times: Boeing’s Ongoing Struggles with Safety and Compliance
Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company, and the leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners. Its reputation as a highly profitable and respected corporation has dwindled over the last couple of years, and 2024 appears to be its worst year yet. Safety incidents involving particular Boeing models have triggered immediate safety concerns and have unearthed significant cultural and ethical challenges within the company. Actions of regulatory bodies tasked with ensuring company safety compliance and accident prevention have revealed a larger-scale issue with aviation industry safety, and the lack of meaningful reform by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Delivery Drones Are Arriving
Using a machine to replace human workers is a practice that continues to grow in the electronic age. The logic of drone delivery is to provide a sustainable option for the last-minute shopper or for the caffeinato that wants to order coffee online and receive it at their doorstep within minutes. For many years, drone deliveries have just been mere speculation based on unreliable technology utilized in the drones. However, it seems that technology has advanced once again. Drone companies have recently been cleared to expand their operations across the United States, in cities and rural areas as the technology becomes more reliable and faster. But how soon should we be able to order our daily necessities and luxurious items straight to our doorstep via drone? That all depends on federal regulation.
Fly Me (Safely) to the Moon: Regulating Commercial Space Travel
The recent successful trips to the edge of space by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are predicted to boost consumer confidence in the possibility of using commercial spaceflight as a global transportation system. However, as interest and involvement in commercial spaceflight grows, safety regulations are failing to keep up. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has the authority to regulate spaceflight, but there is currently a moratorium on regulating the industry until 2023 to encourage innovation.
Unsafe Landing Practices at Detroit Metro Airport
A whistleblower recently called attention to unsafe landing practices at the Detroit Metro Airport. The whistleblower, a veteran air traffic controller, has helped uncover dangerous flaws in the airport’s instrument landing system (ILS). This system emits radio waves that help guide approaching aircraft to the center of the runway. Air traffic control recordings attest to the danger, as many pilots have voiced complaints about the flawed system upon landing. Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to take immediate corrective actions. The U.S. Special Counsel recently notified the President about this lapse in safety, but it remains to be determined whether officials at the Detroit Metro Airport have repaired or replaced the faulty system.
Regulatory Shortcuts Taken in Creation of 737 Max Jets
Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max jets remain grounded in the wake of two crashes that occurred shortly after takeoff and within five months of each other. Both crashes killed all passengers on board, a total of 346 people, and the jets’ black box data recorders have revealed many similarities between the two incidents. Both jets were equipped with Boeing’s newly implemented stall-prevention software called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The system automatically adjusts the pitch of the aircraft, but it malfunctioned in both crashes when MCAS seized control from the pilots and plunged the jets into the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not yet announced when these jets will be allowed to fly again, although test flights have recently been conducted.