Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 158 posts

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#61

Post by amazingamazing »

r0ckarong wrote: post #6
sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #3

What specific expertise does SpaceX have in the air traffic control realm? What was the bidding process like? Do other regions / nations have more advanced ATC than we do, and what can we learn from them? Is there a problem statement beyond "it has some old bits"? What are the specific goals? Just feels like corruption, tbh.

Bidding process? Learn from other nations? Problem statement? Goals? The problem statement is: I don't own this yet. And the goal is: I run everything now. It IS blatant corruption. A foreign national is using his private enterprises to take over government agencies and is backed by a traitor who only cares about his own money and power. If there ever was a more blatant episode of corruption it's what's going on in t…

How can anyone take this post seriously when it gets basic facts wrong.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#62

Post by looofooo0 »

Zealotux wrote: post #4

Such systems are designed and fine-tuned over decades of sometimes hard-learned lessons. This is not meant as a political comment, but people will likely die as a result of this.

To be fair, a system like ACAS is quite old and modern systems with better margins are currently developed and tested, they use techniques such as logic of dynamical systems to proof that the collision avoidance is working as intended. If one can accelerate these it would be an improvement. Don't know about air traffic control, but Europe seems to more advanced.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#63

Post by defrost »

BluSyn wrote: post #46
rimbo789 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is astounding naive take. Musk has a pattern of behavior and this fits it. This is pure corruption.

We clearly have very different definitions of corruption. Actual aeronautics engineers with hands-on expertise offering advice on how to modernize air safety systems does not fall within my definition of corruption.

> with hands-on expertise

in Air Traffic Control? At SpaceX? Do tell . . .

These aren't the same domains.

That technical nitpick aside, this is a classic business move whereby a preferred and privileged private operator gets exclusive ground floor access to get in on a leech like remora attachment to a spigot of public funds for decades.

That's the corruption part, not the touchy feely first phase "just some experts having a look".

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#64

Post by exodust »

Zealotux wrote: post #4

Such systems are designed and fine-tuned over decades of sometimes hard-learned lessons. This is not meant as a political comment, but people will likely die as a result of this.

Die as a result of giving attention to and upgrading air traffic control systems? Didn't a bunch of people die recently as a result of not intervening in this manner?

The Verge is... often a nauseating experience because between every line they're hammering a side-hustle point with blunt force.

Duffy: "I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country..."

Duffy: "...learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system....Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go"

Sounds like they're asking air traffic controllers what they need. I doubt Musk will storm in with kitchen sink, light a cigar and put his boots up on the console.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#66

Post by flakeoil »

jillyboel wrote: post #37
sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #3

What specific expertise does SpaceX have in the air traffic control realm? What was the bidding process like? Do other regions / nations have more advanced ATC than we do, and what can we learn from them? Is there a problem statement beyond "it has some old bits"? What are the specific goals? Just feels like corruption, tbh.

> Do other regions / nations have more advanced ATC According to Trump, yes. This is what he said: > When I land in my plane, privately, I use a system from another country because...I won't tell you what country... because the captain says this system is so bad, it's so obsolete, that we can't have that. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/02/06...

That article says Trump is confused.

> Trump ... seemed to mix up a plane’s onboard electronics system with the federal air traffic control system.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#67

Post by looofooo0 »

sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #3

What specific expertise does SpaceX have in the air traffic control realm? What was the bidding process like? Do other regions / nations have more advanced ATC than we do, and what can we learn from them? Is there a problem statement beyond "it has some old bits"? What are the specific goals? Just feels like corruption, tbh.

What specific expertise does SpaceX have in the air traffic control realm?

Building software which respect to probabilistic risk analysis. This includes techniques such as abstract interpretation and theorem for for the logic of dynamical system etc. I guess spacex expertise in these realm is quite advanced and they do something useful.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#68

Post by Gys »

StackRanker3000 wrote: post #54
r0ckarong wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bidding process? Learn from other nations? Problem statement? Goals? The problem statement is: I don't own this yet. And the goal is: I run everything now. It IS blatant corruption. A foreign national is using his private enterprises to take over government agencies and is backed by a traitor who only cares about his own money and power. If there ever was a more blatant episode of corruption it's what's going on in t…

I agree with everything else you’ve written, but Musk is an American citizen, since a couple of decades.

He is also has a special Chinese status and large interests there. See for example https://newrepublic.com/article/191265/elon-musk-us-china-us...

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#69

Post by dtjb »

starspangled wrote: post #60
dtjb wrote: post #5

The quote from Duffy indicates that the SpaceX team doesn't have any real knowledge about or experience with the FAA systems. Seems like they're being brought in just because they're a Musk company.

The quote also doesn't indicate the SpaceX team is being "brought in to overhaul FAA systems", that seems like a big mistake if that tweet is all they are basing it on. The tweet says the FAA is tasked with overhauling their ATC system, and people from SpaceX are visiting to share ideas, and it seems to include an open invitation to others to do the same. Political pettiness, and speculation about whether Musk got so…

Maybe Musk should have done that review before firing all of those FAA employees last month. Maybe those jobs were important.

Re: A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system

#70

Post by UrineSqueegee »

rimbo789 wrote: post #24
UrineSqueegee wrote: post #17

" Duffy said the team from SpaceX went to Virginia to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.”" I don't understand how anyone can be reasonably against this? They are not going to just overhaul everything overnight, they are going to upgrade the system based on ATC f…

That is astounding naive take. Musk has a pattern of behavior and this fits it. This is pure corruption.

>Musk has a pattern of behavior and this fits it. This is pure corruption.

You must be lost? Please take your Musk derangement syndrome somewhere else.

reddit.com

Post reply on HN