Launching the Future Through Commercial Space Innovation

Since its inception, space technology has produced innovations in nearly every part of our lives – something as simple as shipping a package requires GPS to track the package and the shipping vehicles, remote sensing data to plan routes around severe weather conditions, and telecommunications satellites for the vehicle operator to stay in touch with their operations center across any part of the world. The future holds even more promising endeavors, such as orbital data centers, lunar mining, and bio-manufacturing in microgravity. All of these possibilities have generated significant demand for launch opportunities. In 2023, McKinsey estimated that in order to meet this growing demand, the annual mass-to-orbit capabilities would need to reach 15 kilotons (that’s 15,000 tons or roughly 1,300 Hubble Space Telescopes) by 2030! However the total mass launched in 2025 was just 3.1 kilotons due to the small number of launch opportunities. Since McKinsey’s report, there have been a cavalcade of new space ventures that will likely push that number up, most notably the recent announcement by SpaceX for a million-satellite constellation. A lack of launch opportunities and an increase in space ventures have created an environment brimming with potential but lacking the ability to fully fulfill it. This however, is primed to change.

The gap between the demand and availability for launches can have serious legal and financial implications for companies attempting to meet the deployment deadlines set by the FCC and the ITU. A company that fails to meet their deployment deadlines due to a lack of launch opportunities could lose access to protected spectrum, default on their surety bonds, and be forced to further delay their efforts as they reapply for their license. 

Furthermore, the U.S. spaceport infrastructure and regulatory framework for launch is already stretched to its limits – without major policy changes even future generation rockets with greater payload capacity and potential for launch frequency won’t be able to make a dent in the launch backlog. 

Of the 176 orbital launches from the U.S. in 2025, 175 were from just three federally owned and operated spaceports (Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, and Vandenberg Space Force Base). These key spaceports have suffered from major infrastructure issues due to the increased demands of commercial space launch. Overhauling these spaceports with modern infrastructure would increase launch opportunities, but demand would still need to be offloaded to other spaceports. In recent years a number of spaceport and related facilities have been developed in public-private partnerships, such as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia and the Space Florida facilities in Florida. 

The increase in spaceports is a critical positive development but to fully unlock the potential of these additional facilities, the U.S. government will need to treat spaceports as they would airports and seaports. The FAA’s Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants program (STIM) has only allocated around $1.5 million over the 30 years of the program’s existence, and no money has been allocated in over 10 years. The program’s requirements are overly restrictive compared to similar programs for airports, and preclude the majority of spaceport infrastructure projects. The STIM program must be overhauled to ensure that critical infrastructure projects can receive the funding they need to succeed. 

Beyond typical infrastructure such as high-load bridges and fuel storage facilities, there will need to be significant improvements to how launch traffic and air traffic management systems are integrated. The current coordination system worked when launch was a boutique industry, but that is no longer the case. This process will need to undergo serious modernization in order to prevent costly disruptions to both industries. As will the coordination between the national security operations and commercial operations at the federal ranges – national security activities routinely disrupt commercial operations due to a lack of coordination.

While funding modernization and infrastructure programs would greatly alleviate much of the strain on our current launch ecosystem, regulatory changes will be necessary to fully clear the barriers for launch. Recent years have shown that many of the facilities and operations at spaceports can be executed in a safe and routine manner, negating the need for repeated environmental and safety reviews. Airports have had many activities, such as runway construction, categorically excluded from these reviews due to a history of limited impact. Providing categorical exclusions for safe, repeated spaceport facilities and operations would greatly reduce the bureaucratic friction towards increased launch availability.

After that, the next hurdle will be obtaining the actual license to launch. In 2020, the FAA introduced their licensing framework (Part 450) with the intention of providing flexibility for launch providers and streamlining the process, however the new framework has caused significant slowdowns in licensing due to unclear requirements and an overly tedious pre-approval process. The FAA put together an Aerospace Rulemaking Committee to provide recommendations for improving the Part 450 process – their report is expected to be released in the near future. By implementing the recommendations in the report as soon as possible, the FAA can ensure that the review of launch activities can occur efficiently while maintaining appropriate oversight.

Finally, there are a number of close U.S. allies that have developed their own space launch capabilities that can provide additional options for launch customers, which is particularly beneficial if the specific needs of a commercial space activity are better served by one of these foreign services. However outdated export controls and duplicative licensing prevent most U.S. companies from accessing these options. The U.S. has recently taken steps to reduce some of these barriers, such as through the AUKUS partnership, but further action will open up the launch market for U.S. payloads and will help foster new international business relationships. Congress and federal agencies can prevent launch access from being a major bottleneck for commercial space activities by implementing strategic policy changes, such as those mentioned above or those mentioned in this recent report. And by clearing the pathway to launch, we can create greater opportunities for new commercial space technologies to benefit the world.