Launch operators are the rocket fuel required to galvanize spaceports in Europe

Launch operators are the rocket fuel required to galvanize spaceports in Europe

SpaceNews
🇫🇷 #Latitude is pushing toward a maiden flight 🚀 of its #Zephyr rocket within the next 18 months. The 20 m-tall rocket is designed to deliver 200 kg to #LEO at an ultra-competitive #price point 💶. Zephyr’s Navier engines are #3Dprinted. Latitude has deliberately chosen not to pursue first-stage reusability ♻️. To reach the target of 50 5️⃣0️⃣ launches annually by 📆 2030, Latitude plans to operate from at least two #spaceports https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/latitude-efis-interview
French startup Latitude targets 2026 for first launch while following market-driven approach - NASASpaceFlight.com

French small-launch startup Latitude is pushing toward a maiden flight of its Zephyr rocket within…

NASASpaceFlight.com

"A draft executive order being circulated among federal agencies, and viewed by ProPublica, directs Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to 'use all available authorities to eliminate or expedite' environmental reviews for launch licenses. It could also, in time, require states to allow more launches or even more launch sites — known as #spaceports — along their coastlines.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-musk-spacex-rocket-launch-environmental-regulation-rollback

#Space #SpaceEnvironment #Environment #NEPA #UnitedStates

Trump Administration Looking to Slash Environmental Protection Rules for Rocket Launches

A draft executive order viewed by ProPublica directs the secretary of transportation to “use all available authorities to eliminate or expedite” environmental reviews for launch licenses — a change Elon Musk’s SpaceX and others have long sought.

ProPublica

Cities winning the race to outer space: 2025 REWRITE

Throughout history, ease of trade, commerce, and connectivity has played vital roles in determining which cities prosper and thrive. Seaports, canals, railroads, and highways have all determined urban winners and losers.   Today, the airport is the principle success determiner. Cities ranging from Dallas-Fort Worth, to Orlando, to Denver to Hong Kong, to Amsterdam, to Memphis, to Detroit, to Beijing, and to Anchorage have benefitted from establishing and maintaining cutting-edge aviation infrastructure.  This applies to passenger, overnight, air freight, or seaplane facilities.

Spaceport America, New Mexico – Source: in.pinterest.com

This begs the question of what next? What mode of transportation will be the next conduit to increased trade, economic growth, and regional prosperity? In this planner’s opinion, those cities that become nodes of space travel and/or infrastructure will move ahead of the crowd by the middle of the 21st century. Because of previous investments, there are a number of cities that are well ahead of the pack. That fact, combined with limitations on the number of spaceports that the market can realistically support, will give the cities listed below a leg up on the competition and make them odd’s on favorites. Nevertheless, other cities around the globe may be able to ingenuously latch on to this futuristic growth engine.

Headquarters Space Operations Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado – Source: space ews.com

Below is an updated list of those cities/metro regions in the United States (in alphabetical order) that are either already at the forefront of the urban space race or may become a potential contender, along with the reason(s) why. Not all have to be launch facilities, as research, control and tracking centers are also important. Those listed in bold are currently believed to be the leading metros in this space race. Other cities around the globe are listed separately.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Please feel free to suggest others that may have been missed in this update. Those sites (existing and proposed) which are in very remote locations were not included on the list. Weblinks to sources are provided at the end of the post.

Peace!

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  • Albuquerque-Socorro, New Mexico: Very Large Array (VLA) and Sandia National Laboratories/Kirtland AFB
  • Bakersfield-Mojave, California: Mojave Air and Spaceport
  • Brownsville, Texas: Boca Chica/Space X
  • Cleveland, Ohio: Glenn NASA Research Center
  • Clinton, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Spaceport
  • Colorado Springs, Colorado:U.S. Space Force Command HQ, Peterson Space Force Base, and Schriever Space Force Base
  • Denver, Colorado: Colorado Air & Space Port and Buckley Space Force Base
  • El Paso-Las Cruces-Alamagordo, Texas/New Mexico: NASA White Sands Test Facility, White Sands Missile Range, Spaceport America,and Lunch Site One/Blue Origin Spaceport
  • Greater Los Angeles, California: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Angeles Space Force Base, and Edwards AFB/Spaceport
  • Hampton Roads, Virginia: NASA Langley Research Center, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport – see photo above, Wallops Flight Facility
  • Houston, Texas: Johnson Space Center and Houston Spaceport
  • Huntsville, Alabama: Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, Space Camp, and Huntsville International Air & Space Port
  • Jacksonville, Florida: Cecil Field Spaceport and Spaceport Camden (Georgia)
  • Kodiak, Alaska: Pacific Spaceport Complex
  • Las Vegas, Nevada: Nellis AFB facilities and Nevada Test Site
  • Lompoc-Santa Maria, California: Vandenberg Air/Space Force Base and Launch Facility
  • Melbourne-Palm Bay-Titusville, Florida: Kennedy Space Center, Patrick Space Force Base, and Spaceport Florida
  • Midland-Odessa, Texas: Midland Spaceport
  • Picayune-New Orleans area, Mississippi: Stennis Space Center
  • Washington, DC: NASA HQ, Goddard Space Flight Center, the Pentagon, and other federal departments
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia – Source: esacosas.com

Other cities around the world who are (or may become) leading contenders in the urban space race include (in alphabetical order):

  • Alcantara/San Luis, Brazil: Alcantara Launch Center
  • Arkhangelsk, Russia: Plesetek Cosmodrome
  • Dongfeng Aerospace City, China: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
  • Kimotsuki, Japan: Uchinoura Space Center
  • Kiruna, Sweden: Spaceport Sweden
  • Kourou, French Guiana: Centre Spatial Guyanais European Spaceport
  • Malacca City, Malaysia: Spaceport Malaysia
  • Natal, Brazil: Barreirra do Inferno Launch Center
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil: Brazilian Mission Control
  • Semnan, Iran: Iranian Space Agency
  • Sri City, India: Satish Dhawan Space Centre
  • Svobodny, Russia: Vostochny Cosmodrome
  • Tanegashima, Japan: Tanegashima Space Center
  • Tel Aviv, Israel: Palmachim Airbase
  • Volgograd, Russia: Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome
  • Willemstad, Curacao: Spaceport Curacao
  • Xichang, China: Xichang Satellite Launch Center
  • Yasny, Russia: Dombarovsky Air Base/Cosmodrome

SOURCES

#aerospace #astronomy #aviation #landUsePlanning #outerSpace #rockets #Science #space #spaceExploration #spaceTravel #spaceports #technology #transportation #transportationPlanning #travel #urbanPlanning

Spaceport - Wikipedia

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SpaceNews
Declassification of the Manned Orbital Laboratory: An Analysis of Materials Released by the NRO

The Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL) was a major initiative by the U.S. Air Force in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) during the 1960s. MOL was a secretive yet highly signif…

New Space Economy
aeroway=spaceport | Tags | OpenStreetMap Taginfo

How many of the 4️⃣5️⃣ #spaceports worldwide do you know by name ? https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/aeroway=spaceport
< 3
25.6%
< 5
18.6%
< 10
46.5%
> 10
9.3%
Poll ended at .
aeroway=spaceport | Tags | OpenStreetMap Taginfo