Spaceports are becoming key facilities in the rapidly growing space ecosystem, but building one is neither simple nor without risk, according to a new paper from Aerospace's Center for Space Policy and Strategy. Like any other large infrastructure investment, a spaceport's location and capabilities must be carefully considered before committing communities and resources.
"'Spaceportopian' ambitions to claim a piece of the growing global space industry should be grounded by the practical realities of what a spaceport might bring to a host region’s long-term economic, social, and environmental well-being, while future-proofing launch capacity and ensuring continued success for all stakeholders," write the authors, Karen L. Jones and Lindsay Demarchi of CSPS, and Priyanka Dhopade of the University of Auckland.
The warning is not intended to deter anyone investigating the possibility of building a spaceport, but to clarify the costs and benefits so that there are no surprises down the line.
For example, it may sound natural to design a spaceport around the possibility of hosting super-heavy launch vehicles like SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn, given the seeming inevitability of their use in the near future. But accommodating these launch vehicles' larger propellant quantities and the resultant evacuation zones could interfere with the cadence and reliability of smaller launch vehicles at the same site.
Though the economic benefits of a spaceport are frequently cited as self-evident, the paper warns that "there is no clear consensus on the economic cost or benefit a spaceport produces for the local, national, or global economy." We simply don't have the data on this nascent industry, so all analyses are by necessity preliminary and incomplete; any city, state, or nation thinking of investing in a spaceport would do well to proceed with care and deliberation.
"But to do that, we need the right practical foundations in place to avoid flawed 'spaceportopian' assumptions, strategic errors, and a general tendency to overlook local and regional needs," write the authors. "Within this context, spaceport planning principles can guide investors, government and commercial stakeholders, and surrounding communities towards a shared and realistic vision of success."