Project Description

Commercial spaceports are launch facilities dedicated to serving the needs of the commercial launch industry. The need to move beyond the restrictions and costs of using government facilities was the key driver in the emergence of the industry, and it came about as a result of the gradual commercialization of space launch starting in the 1980s. Today, commercial spaceports serve a key function in the expanding space commerce industry.

This paper will start with a brief history of the emergence of commercial spaceports and show how their development has paralleled the developing of the space commerce industry, followed by a proposed model for classifying commercial spaceports based on their history and target markets. Finally, the economics of spaceport development will be discussed.

Read more: Commercial Spaceports In The Americas Matula

This paper was first published as part of Space Commerce, The Inside Story, published by the Aerospace Technology Working Group (ATWG) and included on this site through the courtesy of ATWG, ISU and the individual authors.

For reference, we are also providing the front cover and table of contents.

Other extracts from this publication can be found here.