NASA Wants A Drone Detector At Kennedy Area Middle

NASA is in search of proposals for a brand new system to assist spot and determine drones which may be flying over the Kennedy Area Middle (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The house company not too long ago put out a call for proposals for Unmanned Plane System (UAS) detection and evaluation providers, which NASA is hoping to place into motion by April 2026. The aim of the system will probably be “to make speedy and important selections to guard NASA personnel, the general public, launch automobiles, flight {hardware}, vital excessive worth belongings, and safety pursuits,” in response to the contract itemizing. It’ll have each mounted and cellular sensors.

The transfer comes shortly after the U.S. Federal Communications Fee (FCC) introduced it was banning new foreign-made drones and drone elements, citing nationwide safety issues.

Eyes on the skies

Kennedy Area Middle is NASA’s major launch website, together with for the Area Launch System rocket that can carry the Artemis missions to the Moon, and homes services for analysis and industrial house ventures.

“All UAS flights over KSC property, whether or not inside or exterior the safety perimeter, are restricted and solely happen with the approval of KSC Flight Operations,” NASA wrote in its proposal. It’s not clear whether or not the company has confronted current threats from drones, or if it is a precautionary transfer to guard its launch belongings. It’s additionally not clear what sort of drone detection programs are in use on the neighboring Cape Canaveral Area Power Station, residence to labeled navy actions.

The drone detection system would detect and determine unknown UAS inside a distance of at the very least 46 miles (64 kilometers), present menace analyses, real-time detection and alerting capabilities, in response to the decision for proposal.

The current ban on foreign-made drones stems from a protection invoice that handed final 12 months, which referred to as for a overview of the nationwide safety dangers posed by the flying automobiles. In late 2024, there was a surge of studies of drones seen flying over New Jersey, however most consultants say individuals have been simply confused by conventional plane.

We will report at the very least one related siting: KSC’s Customer Middle is reportedly working a vacation drone present that includes 600 autonomous plane.