News - Spaceports - Astro Act - Pacific Spaceport Complex Kodiak Alaska

 

Legislation to Boost Investment in American Spaceports. 

 

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) introduced bipartisan legislation to support spaceports across the nation, boosting investment in the next frontier while addressing the concerning spaceport bottleneck preventing more frequent launches. The Alleviating Spaceport Traffic by Rewarding Operators (ASTRO) Act would award funding to spaceports with a proven track records of successful launches in order to help to promote America’s strategic, military, and commercial interests in space exploration while supporting local economies surrounding spaceports.

 

“As global competition in space accelerates, the United States must invest in the infrastructure that supports our commercial and national security launch capabilities,” Sen. Sullivan said. “The ASTRO Act will provide critical resources to modernize and expand our spaceports – fueling essential upgrades at facilities like the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak – to ensure we remain the world’s leader in space launch. I’m glad to work with Senator Warner and Senator Luján on this bipartisan effort to strengthen our space industry and enhance our national security.“

America faces a severe and worsening “spaceport bottleneck” as the need for space launch facilities vastly outpaces supply, creating very high demand on a small number of facilities. The ASTRO Act would provide non-federal spaceports the resources they need to build transit infrastructure and quickly increase launch capacity and cadence. Under the ASTRO Act, spaceports would receive $250,000 for each licensed launch and $100,000 for each permitted launch up to $2.5 million annually, promoting investment in spaceports that already have a successful record.

Full text of the ASTRO Act is available here.

And in other news... Astro Dan has been squirreling away a little funding for an Alaska Arctic Dome.

On Feb. 5, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), introduced a bill to authorize $19.5 billion in fiscal 2026 funding for a broad set of missile defense initiatives beyond the scope of the executive order. Most of the proposed spending, $12 billion, would go toward expanding the ground-based midcourse interceptor field at Fort Greely, Alaska.