Four Ways to Accommodate the Massive Growth in Space Launches

NASA again was propelled into global headlines on October 14 when the agency successfully launched its Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. This mission will investigate whether Europa, a moon of Jupiter with an enormous subsurface ocean, might have conditions to support life.

With this exciting news, NASA, the U.S. Space Force and commercial companies racked up 119 successful orbital U.S. launches so far in 2024, with more expected by the end of the year. Thanks to the boost provided by commercial companies like SpaceX, ULA and Blue Origin, we can expect to continue to see more record-setting numbers of launches in the future.

While these successful launches present great opportunities for scientists and researchers, the accelerating pace of launches also presents challenges. Congested launch dates are testing the government’s resources in terms of the limited facilities, personnel and funding available to support these missions.

While Congress and the White House explore policy and program changes,  agencies like NASA and the Space Force have made progress in developing new approaches to addressing those challenges. However, there are specific opportunities to sustain successful space operations while ramping up the country’s ability to accommodate the growing demand for space launches.

• Expand the number of launch sites. Most of the country’s launch activity to date has taken place at Cape Canaveral, which houses the Kennedy Space Center, testing the limits of the infrastructure there. The government should continue to consider expanding the number of launches from other locations, including Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, Wallops Island in Virginia and the Kodiak Spaceport Complex in Alaska. Besides the obvious benefit of providing accommodations for a greater number of launches, more sites also would alleviate issues that arise from the current “first come, first served” approach to scheduling launches that can result in delays for those who aren’t able to reserve their spots early.
• Determine U.S. space launch prioritization guidelines. The government could consider creating a U.S. launch priority framework. This would include current criteria such as advancing payloads related to national security as well guidance for prioritizing launch schedules for other missions, i.e. those that have immediate benefit to the Nation, such as GPS communications satellites, vs. less urgent research programs.
• Build up existing infrastructure at Canaveral, with help from the private sector. Increasing the number of launch sites won’t be sufficient on its own unless we also ensure that all sites, including existing ones, have sufficient infrastructure in place to support the explosive growth we expect. Infrastructure at Cape Canaveral has been taxed to the point that NASA sometimes prohibits companies like SpaceX from launching due to conflicts with other range customers or other limiting factors such as shortages of propellants or ground support. The government should consider upgrading infrastructure related to commodities to handle the expected volume of future payloads. The private sector is helping by building facilities, both onsite at Canaveral and offsite, to help boost the infrastructure needed to process payloads and hardware. For example, Blue Origin now provides its own power lines coming into Canaveral. Fortunately, the government has recognized this challenge and is already making progress in addressing it. In a prominent example, the Space Force’s “Range of the Future” initiative was established in 2022 to increase launch capabilities by enhancing infrastructure and streamlining processes. The program is moving support contractors from the middle section of Cape Canaveral to the south end to eliminate costly and time-consuming evacuations of personnel in the area when launches take place – an issue which will be exacerbated as more powerful rockets like the SpaceX Starliner are deployed. (This issue can also be addressed by expanding the number of launch sites, as suggested above.)

• Use the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Airspace System program as a model. Spaceports could operate under similar cost sharing models as airports, where airlines lease space and are billed for commodities such as oil, fuel and water. Such a pricing model would forecast what it will cost to maintain capabilities and spread that cost among the various “tenants” at the spaceport. This approach could ensure that resources are available to support the explosive growth in the number of launches.

This approach would also help the U.S. maintain its leadership in the world of commercial space missions and as a future leader in space tourism. And by integrating space missions into traditional airports, space programs will be able to leverage the established success we’ve achieved in air travel in terms of security and customer experience.

The systems and technology used to ensure safe and secure air travel can serve as models for what we do in space. Again, we have examples of government agencies doing just that. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) may be viewed as an air traffic control system in space providing situational awareness for private sector and civil space operatives. TraCSS delivers the added benefit of relieving the Defense Department’s overburdened Joint Space Operations Center which currently provides these services, while allowing non-Defense space operations to transition to a more commercial approach for traffic coordination.

This is a momentous time for space missions, from both scientific and commercial perspectives. Through a combination of redirected resources, updated processes and collaboration with the private sector, the U.S. government can ensure that our nation remains at the forefront. By doing so, we can continue to push the boundaries of science while making our country safer and more productive.