U.S. Space Ops Chief Issues Launch Cap Warning

LONDON—The U.S. may have to place a cap on launches if the aging infrastructure does not secure the resources to be modernized and expanded in the face of booming use of existing sites, the departing Chief of Space Operations warns.

“We don’t want to put a cap on the number of launches that we can support from our ranges, but we have to consider that our existing resources will fail if we don’t consider a cap,” Gen. B. Chance Saltzman told reporters on the sidelines of the Global Air & Space Conference here.

The Pentagon is dealing with the reality that its launch demands—along with those from commercial users and customers abroad—have caused a huge leap in recent years in the number of launches on U.S. facilities. Since the creation of the U.S. Space Force, the operational launch tempo has increased 1,100%, he said.

Bolstering the service’s launch infrastructure was one of the top priorities in its record $71.1 billion fiscal 2027 budget request.

The current pace of operations “starts to put stress on that infrastructure that was designed for different operations,” Saltzman said. “That’s the fundamental kind of limitation.”

The Pentagon wants to address issues around the creaking infrastructure along several paths, while also looking to expand it. Among the efforts are building more launchpads and reaching agreements with commercial vendors to build their launchpads, as well as growing the number of security forces to protect such facilities, Saltzman said. More infrastructure also is needed to move methane and liquid oxygen.

Some seemingly banal issues are also on the agenda, such as road maintenance and construction. “Moving heavy rockets across our roads is deteriorating the roads at a pace which we weren’t ready to rebuild them at,” Saltzman said. Dealing with that is just an issue of money, he noted, appealing to Congress to provide the resources.