Qantas delays flights to remove SpaceX rocket parts

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Qantas has been forced to delay flights between Australia and South Africa after the US government warned the airline about the risk of parts of a SpaceX rocket entering the atmosphere over the southern Indian Ocean.

Australia’s flag carrier said on Tuesday it had postponed several flights between Sydney and Johannesburg over the past few weeks, with delays ranging from one to six hours.

Ben Holland, the head of Qantas operations center, recently entered the atmosphere of the rockets owned by Elon Musk. SpaceX They “acted on a delay notice” forcing the airline to delay some flights shortly before their departure.

He added: “We are contacting SpaceX to see if they can check the launch location and time windows to minimize future disruption to our passengers.”

A few airlines fly over the far southern Indian Ocean, however Qantas Since the early 1950s, the South Africa to Australia service – known as the Wallaby Route.

It is a route regularly used by tourists, South Africans living in Australia and mining industry executives.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the US regulator, authorizes all commercial space rocket launches and re-entry in the US, as well as those carried out by US companies abroad.

Rocket launchers are typically carefully calibrated to ensure that non-reusable parts are splashed across the ocean. The exact location depends on the flight, planes and ships are told to avoid the re-entry zone.

Qantas’ warning comes at a time when the launch rate is expected to increase significantly as several new rockets enter the market.

Last year, 259 rockets were launched worldwide, and 256 of them were successful.

SpaceX is expected to more than halve its launch rate this year as it brings its massive Starship rocket into service. It is expected to make its seventh test flight this week.

Rival rocket company Blue Origin, which is backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is also set to fly its New Glenn rocket in the coming days after canceling its first flight on Monday due to ice problems.

There have been instances of units falling to Earth outside of controlled zones. Last year, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was grounded after three incidents that resulted in re-entry of components outside the controlled descent zone.

Qantas shares fell 2 percent in Australia after announcing the flight delays.

SpaceX has been contacted for comment.