When NASA was the only name in space exploration in the US, Florida’s famous spaceports at Cape Canaveral and neighbouring John F. Kennedy Space Center hosted just a handful of launches a year, each one a milestone. Now those facilities, which sent the first humans to the moon and supported the construction of the International Space Station, are far busier than they ever were. This is the result of escalating excitement in the commercial possibilities presented by space, a market that GlobalData projects could be worth between $750 billion and a $1 trillion by 2030.
A new worldwide space race is off the starting blocks – but this time billionaire entrepreneurs and private markets are driving growth. Technological advances in manufacturing and propulsion have made it much easier and less expensive to venture into space and conduct missions, creating an opportunity Tesla founder and space enthusiast Elon Musk pounced on early. Musk’s SpaceX, which regularly makes the headlines for breakthrough innovations and stretching the boundaries of human ambition, is the real reason US orbital launches have leaped from a few a year to a few a month and put Florida back on the map as the interstellar capital of the world. Nicknamed Space Coast in the 1960s for its historic space missions, investment from SpaceX in Florida’s spaceport infrastructure as well as support from Space Florida, the state’s spaceport authority, has opened the doors to businesses from startups to established aerospace companies, like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Boeing to make investments across the space value chain that once seemed too expensive or difficult.
Chosen by NASA for its strategic geographic location close to the equator and the ocean, Florida’s launch pads on its Atlantic Coast saw 85 orbital rockets take to the skies as of the start of the December, sailing past 2023’s record of 72 launches. Most of these have been SpaceX launching satellite payloads into low-earth orbit as part of its Starlink low-cost internet programme as well as other more experimental activities, like supporting the Polaris Dawn mission, which saw the first civilian spacewalk. Polaris Dawn was also the first crewed mission to travel as far from the earth as the Apollo programme in 1972.
Over the next few years, Florida’s launch tally is expected to rise much further and much faster.
For starters, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin will become much more active in space exploration. Blue Origin has already invested more than $1 billion to improve the infrastructure at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36, home to the launch pad of its debut heavy-lift rocket New Glenn, which the company plans to use to put crewed and uncrewed payloads into earth orbit and beyond. United Launch Alliance (ULA) also aims to accelerate launch rates of its Atlas and Vulcan rockets for government and commercial customers using Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Of course, SpaceX too has big plans. In partnership with NASA, SpaceX is working to put humans back on the moon and even venture further afield.
The investment from these companies in Florida’s spaceport infrastructure and commitment to launching from Florida has been a major contributor of the jet fuel to Florida’s wider space ecosystem and will continue to support the state in growing a space economy that is driven by the markets but also covers military and government activities.
Over the next decade or so, it is anticipated that between 10,000 and 12,000 new satellites will be launched into low earth orbit to support a new cislunar economy and we will see scientists and businesses from many countries involved in on-orbit research and in-space manufacturing platforms as space becomes easier to access.
Florida is well aware of what’s at stake and has attracted upward of $2 billion in private investment in space transportation in 2024 alone as a result of favourable incentives, solid foundations and universities that support space R&D and collaborate closely with NASA, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.
Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a law expanding the state’s spaceport territory to Homestead Air Reserve Base in south Florida and Tyndall Air Force Base in the panhandle and also expands the definition of spaceport discretionary capacity improvement projects in a move that will enable more businesses to access financial support in return for investing in Florida’s space industry.
“This legislative change reflects our commitment to establishing Florida as the premier global and interplanetary capital for aerospace commerce,” said Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. “Through investment into these strategic locations, we will continue to bolster the aerospace ecosystem across the entire state of Florida by bringing companies together and providing access to essential resources, shared knowledge, and innovative ideas. We are excited about the opportunities this designation will bring and look forward to the continued growth and success of Florida’s aerospace sector.”
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