Space goals skyrocket
As launches ramp up, new sites are needed to accommodate the increased traffic
NASA's space Launch system rocket with the Orion crew capsule lifts off April 1 from the Kennedy space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the Artemis II mission.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
As the number of rocket launches is expected to soar in the next decade across the United States, President Donald Trump's administration seeks public input on ideas to support the increasing demand.
How can the federal government make better use of existing spaceports in Florida and California, where launch pads are feeling the strain? Where can completely new coastal and offshore launch sites be constructed to ease the backlog of both commercial and government missions for launch service providers?
Those are among the questions the U.S. government looks to answer as NASA aims to send humans to both the moon and Mars, and as the need for uncrewed satellite deliveries to Earth orbit grows.
"America's commercial space industry is driving innovation, strengthening our national security, creating high-paying jobs, and expanding economic opportunity across the country," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last month. "We will ensure the next era of space transportation is powered by American workers, American companies and American ingenuity."
Here's everything to know about Trump's plan for rocket launches to surge in the U.S., and how the public can submit comments on the plans.
From 200 launches to 1,000
A new policy the Republican president signed Aug. 20 calls for the U.S. to support more than 1,000 launches and reentries per year by 2030. Meeting the benchmark would mean that the number of launches would more than quadruple from today, when about 200 rockets get off the ground per year.
Trump's goal also is significantly higher than what the Federal Aviation Administration predicted is on the horizon in the next decade. In a 10-year forecast released in July, the FAA — which licenses commercial rocket launches — predicted almost 4,300 launches were likely in the U.S. between 2026 and 2036, with spaceflights increasing annually to more than 500.
More locations, spaceport upgrades
To accomplish the objective, the Trump administration calls for the development of more launch sites across the U.S., as well as upgrades to existing spaceports where rockets already lift off.
Today, orbital rocket launches in the U.S. take place in Florida, Texas and California — all coastal states where rockets can fly over open water rather than populated cities.
In the memorandum, the Trump administration orders the Pentagon and NASA to "prioritize and coordinate on infrastructure investments" to boost both launch and reentry capacity at federal ranges. That includes reshaping the scheduling at federally owned spaceports in order to balance the needs of both commercial providers and government missions.
The policy also directs the military and NASA to "regularly publish range schedules" in the name of transparency. As of now, schedules for most rocket launches can be hard to come by, with specific missions and target windows often not made public very far in advance.
FAA seeks public input
The FAA issued a request for information — an opportunity for the public to comment on the ideas — that closes Oct. 26.
The agency is asking for input on two areas: where the U.S. should build new spaceports and how it should set aside priority airspace for critical space-launch routes. Officials will consider factors such as safety, geography, access to roads and the ability to launch over open water when deciding viable sites.
Offshore locations such as oil and gas platforms that can be converted into launch sites also are under consideration.
SpaceX, Blue Origin eye more launch sites
The move comes as major commercial launch providers like SpaceX, Blue Origin and other spaceflight companies are looking to increase operations.
Blue Origin and SpaceX are working with NASA to develop rockets and lunar landers that will be critical to the U.S. space agency's ambitions of returning astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program.
SpaceX, founded in 2002 by tech mogul Elon Musk, also is working to get its Starship rocket operational in order to support its Starlink internet satellite business and achieve Musk's dream of colonizing Mars. The world's largest rocket, eclipsing 400 feet when fully stacked, has so far only launched on flight tests from Texas at SpaceX's Starbase headquarters.
But SpaceX is making progress in introducing Starship in Florida, with launch plans at both the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company also recently unveiled plans to build a new sprawling $100 billion Starship launch facility in Louisiana.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, meanwhile, is at work getting its towering 322-foot New Glenn rocket back on track in Florida, with plans to introduce an even larger version following a devastating explosion at the end of May. The rocket also could launch in the years ahead from the growing Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Some oppose moves
While proponents in the space-flight industry laud Trump's policies as critical in reducing bureaucratic red tape, the moves are not without critics.
For instance, a proposal at the end of July to exempt commercial space launch licensing from many environmental regulations drew swift condemnation from environmental groups. Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, filed comments Sept. 1 calling the proposal both illegal and a threat to residents and wildlife near launch sites.
"The environmental laws on the books are there for a reason," said Scott W. Stern, a senior associate attorney for Earthjustice, "to ensure companies remain responsible for and accountable to the frontline communities in which they are operating."
