The world’s busiest spaceport continues to break yearly launch records as more commercial space launch providers aim to add to the already busy launch cadence. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, together, achieved 93 launches in 2024, far exceeding the once-ambitious goal of “Drive to 48” in 2017.
Launch pads built in the 1960s are getting a new lease on life with the arrival of Relativity, Stoke Space, Firefly, ABL, Vaya Space, and Phantom Space, which are taking over facilities on historic ICBM Road. The rapid development of commercial space and its ability to support vital National Security missions bring challenges to budgets and infrastructure. Space Launch Delta 45’s “Spaceport of the Future” plan is part of a Space Force investment in resilient and ready spaceports with a budget of $1.3 billion over five years.
NSF recently sat down with U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Andrew Compton, Spaceport Integration Office Chief, and Andy Duce, Program Manager of Spaceport Development, to talk about Spaceport of the Future initiatives and challenges. The two heavily discussed the engineering required to launch rockets into space from the Cape, as well as the importance of less-obvious launch infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment.