ADVANCED

Companies operating from a spaceport can make new medicines and pharmaceuticals without the expense associated with a federal installation or going to the ISS.

To cheaply go: How falling launch costs fueled a thriving economy in orbit - Companies that once had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to put a satellite into orbit can now do the same for a fraction of that price.

Launches could simply move to other terrestrial spaceports, like Rocket Lab’s growing presence at Virginia’s Wallops Island, which has a pad for Electron launches and will host the company’s larger Neutron rocket. But for orbital launches there are few other options today, or for the foreseeable future, given the expense and regulatory difficulty in establishing new spaceports for vertically launched orbital rockets.

Cape Congestion: World’s busiest spaceport stretched to its limits Jeff Foust - March 24, 2023

Forbes Business

Space Industry Grew To Record $469 Billion Last Year, Report Finds

Carlie Porterfield

Former Staff

Jul 27, 2022,04:39pm EDT

The space industry grew at its fastest pace in years to reach a record $469 billion in annual global spending in 2021, according to a report from the Space Foundation published Wednesday, as government and commercial space ventures continue to soar.

KEY FACTS

• The global space economy grew 9% year-over-year in 2021, marking the fastest rate of growth since 2014, the report found.

• Commercial space ventures accounted for a whopping 77% of spending, as a record number of civilians launched into space last year.

• More than $224 billion came from products and services delivered by space firms in 2021, and nearly $138 billion was spent on infrastructure and support for commercial space enterprises, according to the report.

Government spending increased by 19% and added $107 billion to the space economy last year, with the U.S. government and military spending $59.6 billion alone, a 12% share of global space spending.

Countries across the world are investing in both military and civil space spending, such as new defense systems that protect against hypersonic missiles–like those used in Ukraine–as well as preparing for manned space missions to the moon and Mars.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Despite 2022’s economic slowdown, the report projects space spending will continue to rise, and the Space Foundation expects the space economy will grow beyond $634 billion by 2026.

BIG NUMBER

1,022. That’s how many spacecraft were launched in the first six months of 2022, according to the report. The vast majority–958–were from the commercial sector.

KEY BACKGROUND

The Space Foundation is a nonprofit that advocates for the space industry. Once almost exclusively made up of government entities, most space flights are now launched by companies.

Verticle spaceports are few and a very precious resource for the commercial space industry and possibly even the DoD. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? It means that Camden County has already completed the hard work of getting an extremely valuable license from the FAA. Your support for the County Commissioners to now get Georgia's spaceport operational is critically important. Please contact this site to say you'd like a GEORGIA SPACE License Plate, to request a speaker, or contact Camden County (912-576-5601) directly to let them know you want Commercial Space Industry jobs now. They are working hard for you and would appreciate your encouragement.

Spaceports with Vertical Launch Sites are The Big Deal and there are Only Five

FROM Cape Congestion: But for orbital launches there are few other options today, or for the foreseeable future, given the expense and regulatory difficulty in establishing new spaceports for vertically launched orbital rockets.

Spaceport Camden is only the 5th

FAA-Licensed

Vertical Spaceport

Over an eight year period, the visionary Camden County, Georgia, Board of Commissioners worked with the FAA to get a Vertical Launch Site License. This extremely valuable piece of paper, established Spaceport Camden as only the fifth FAA Vertical Commercial Spaceport.

The Spaceport Camden License is REAL and very valuable to Georgia and the Southeast

FROM Cape Congestion: But for orbital launches there are few other options today, or for the foreseeable future, given the expense and regulatory difficulty in establishing new spaceports for vertically launched orbital rockets.

Georgia has Far Better Launch Efficiency over Launch Sites Further North

ALL Commercial Space Companies know this basic FACT.

Latitudes closer to the equator give launch vehicles a boost due to the earth's rotation. Thus the same rocket will use less fuel at lower latitudes to place the same amount of mass (payload) into orbit. The most efficient place to launch from on the east coast is Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Spaceport Camden in Georgia is only 2.5 degrees north, but MARS, Virginia is another 7 degrees north of the Georgia site and a total of 9.5 degrees north of the best southern site in Florida.

<----------------------- Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL

<----------------------------- Spaceport Camden, Georgia

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia

30 degrees 54 minutes North

37 degrees 51 minutes North

28 degrees 30 minutes North

And now so do you. Congratulations! You are in the top 3% in the general public seeking to understand why it is important to send experiments into space.

• X MARS - Wallops Island, Virginia [Zone 45: 2%, Zone 44: 2%, 1% Major, Zone 43: 8%, 4% Major]

• Georgia - [Zone 34: 1%, Zone 33: 1%]

• X Kennedy Space Center - Florida [Zone 31: 5%, Zone 30: 8%, 5% Major]

Georgia is Far More Sheltered from Hurricanes over Launch Sites Further North and South

Less Weather Vulnerability

• Georgia - [Camden: 0 Hurricanes]

• X Kennedy Space Center - FL [Brevard: 6]

The area from Flagler Beach, Florida to Darien, Georgia is known as THE HURRICANE SHADOW. This is an area of very low probability [1% to 2%] for a hurricane to reach shore. Due to the rotation of the earth, hurricanes heading for this area while far at sea, will tend to turn to the north and eventually go out to sea or threaten South Carolina, North Carolina, or Virginia. While there have been brief low level hurricane winds and high tropical storm winds, a major hurricane has never come on shore in Camden County, Georgia in modern times.