Commercial Space Industry Is Just Getting Started, with Launch Activity Expected to Double Through 2026

The FAA noted an important landmark in commercial space operation with the 500th licensed launch. 

The administration took the opportunity to call attention to its safety efforts surrounding spaceflight, from the licensure and approval of rockets to the environmental suitability of prospective space ports. The FAA offers a multitude of different licenses and approvals under CFR Part 450, the code regulating spaceborne vehicles under a wider umbrella than the patchwork of regulations previously used. Whether granting a basic operator's license for launch and reentry, experimental permits, amateur rockets, to payload reviews, spaceport licensure, and safety approvals, the FAA does the needful for the commercial space industry. 

The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation shows an incredible boom in the industry, with expected launches forecasted to top out at 186 in 2026. This year has continued the trajectory started in 2021, when the industry exceeded expectations as it sought to catch up to postponed launches from the year before. The Office has seen 73 launches in 2022, the vast majority launching from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Future competition will likely come from licensed spaceports in Georgia, Virginia, Texas, and California, especially once the launch schedule at Kennedy starts to get a little too tight for comfort.  

There are 23 active launch or reentry licenses at publication, with commercial space standbys like Rocket Lab and SpaceX rounding out more than their share of spots on the launch roster. Seeing one "Falcon 9" entry after another drives home the impressive proportion of market share enjoyed by SpaceX. How long that lasts remains to be seen, since the industry might be looking at expanding by 2 1/2 times this year's launch rate, providing plenty of opportunity for competitors to build up their customer base too. 

FMI: www.faa.gov