The rapid rise of commercial launch providers has taken the nation's spaceports and ranges to the limits of their capabilities. To maintain the pace and dominance of space launch services, these facilities need to be modernized — and Aerospace is already hard at work on that.

“Commercial launches account for more than 90 percent of all launches, and the launch providers need these spaceports to support, respond and react at the speed of commercial business,” said Aerospace's Rich Lamb, who leads support for the Space Force's Spaceport of the Future initiative.

The need is urgent, but the work of expanding and improving existing launch sites is complex — and building new ones isn't exactly easy either, as a recent Aerospace study pointed out.

Aerospace works with many stakeholders, providing risk assessment, running simulations, and exploring new possibilities like inland launch sites. You can read more about the state of launch infrastructure and what's being done to improve it right here.