“Exploration is wired into our brains. If we can see the horizon, we want to know what’s beyond.” – Buzz Aldrin, Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
By: Dominick Purpura and Max Blumenfeld
Florida stands as the premier gateway to space exploration in the United States, home to the highest number of spaceports of any state. Key contributions to this position have been its ideal geographic location, the presence of top-tier education institutions geared towards aeronautics, and its well-established network of aeronautical manufacturing bases. Florida’s private space industry generates significant economic benefits for Floridians, such as the creation of new jobs and increased tourism. With private organizations such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin moving to the Sunshine State, Florida is emerging as the ‘Silicon Valley of the space industry.’
Kennedy Space Center
Home to the “world’s preeminent multi-user spaceport,” Florida’s Kennedy Space Center facilitates launch processing, technological innovation, and scientific research projects. The Center’s activities have attracted space industry powerhouses such as SpaceX, Firefly, and Blue Origin. Aside from space operations and manufacturing, the Kennedy Space Center is a space-oriented tourist destination, with over 900,000 visitors in 2021. Producing an economic output of $5.25 billion in 2021, an 11.3% increase since the 2019 fiscal year, the Kennedy Space Center supports about 27,000 jobs.
Revenue generated by the commercialization of the Center has allowed the private space industry to grow and innovate, constantly pushing the limits of technological boundaries. Private firms have encouraged economic and technical progress, the creation of jobs, and the generation of wealth through growth and innovation. With the rise of Florida’s private space industry, private investment is “able to go faster, reach farther, [and] do it quicker.” Unfortunately, despite this success, the private space economy tends to be stifled by slow government agencies and outdated regulations that hinder its growth.
The Problem
Where space development and exploration was once a purely government venture, the sector is now, for the first time, dominated by private companies. As government agencies battle for jurisdiction over the new industry, convoluted administrative hurdles hinder Florida’s potential economic success. Florida Senators Mark Rubio and Rick Scott recently expressed concern over the most successful of these government agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming the “licensing process has led to delays in space launches as well as regulatory hurdles that have hindered industry development and innovation.” A more market-oriented policy approach with a streamlined licensure process and transparent regulations in industry could be key to unlocking the industry’s full economic potential.
A 2022 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that government policy cannot keep pace with the speed of investment from the private space industry. The report, which interviewed eight employees of US space companies who were familiar with the company’s regulatory and policy preferences, found that “a streamlined licensing process characterized by transparency would enable them to best perceive and respond to regulators’ concerns.”
Prolonged wait times for licensure, vast outdated regulation, and strict restrictions on modern technology have held back the space industry from capitalizing on its potential to innovate and grow. Nonetheless, private space companies are still not arguing for no regulation. Instead, they have voiced their desire for regulatory transparency, in which they “know the rules of the road.” A more market-oriented approach with less tangled and outdated regulation is needed to move Florida’s space economy forward. However, what does a more free market approach look like?
The Solution
While the Florida government has a role in regulating the space industry to help promote sustainable business practices, policymakers should avoid policies that limit the development of new innovation and technologies. Instead, they should focus on creating legislation which lowers the costs of doing business for space firms.
An example of this includes Florida’s House Bill 5 introduced during the 2023 legislative session. This bill restructured Florida’s economic development programs to be more consolidated, by eliminating a redundant and inefficient partner responsible for economic development named Enterprise Florida and transferring its functions to the new Department of Commerce. Pertaining to the bureaucratic hurdles surrounding Florida’s private space economy, this bill avoids duplication and promotes “coordinated and consistent implementation of programs.” House Bill 5 more readily enables the private space industry to “align their business strategies with government guidance.”
A convoluted and unfriendly business legislation in the state of Florida could stunt, and possibly even hinder, the Florida space industry. Alternatively, as Florida’s space industry continues to expand, a proliferation of clear, stable, and intentional legislation is sure to be economically beneficial, growing Florida’s economy one launch at a time.
Edited by Riley Tiernan and Chloe Offutt
Dominick’s research with the DMC has been geared towards economic growth stemming from the rapidly growing private space industry within Florida. Since transferring to FSU in the Spring of 2022, he’s completed his Bachelor’s in Economics and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Applied Economics at FSU. Outside of his academic journey in Tallahassee, he enjoys spending time with friends, reading, and playing basketball.
Max Blumenfeld is a fourth year economics and international affairs student minoring in Russian language and mathematics. He leads the DMC’s Aerospace team in conducting research on the economic impact of space debris, and is an employee of Florida Policy Project.
Works Cited:
Aldrin, Buzz, and Ken Abraham. 2010. Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Florida House of Representatives. 2023. “House Bill 5: An Act Relating to Economic Development Programs.” https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/5
Goessler, Alyssa. 2022. “Space Policy and Law.” https://aerospace.csis.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AGoessler_The-Private-Sectors-Assessment-of-U.S.-Space-Policy-and-Law.pdf.
“Kennedy Space Center Economic Impact Study FY 2021.” 2022. NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ksc_economic_impact_report_fy2021.pdf.
Scott, Rick, and Marco Rubio. 2023. “Rubio Scott Letter to Department of Transportation Regarding Licensure Delays.” Marco Rubio U.S. Senator for Florida. https://www.rubio.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11.15.23-Rubio-Scott-letter-to-DoT-re-launch-licenseure-delays.pdf.
“Space Florida: $5.9 Billion Economic Impact on Florida’s Economy.” Space Florida, Space Florida, www.spaceflorida.gov/news/space-florida-5-9-billion-economic-impact-on-floridas-economy
“Spaceports by State.” Federal Aviation Administration, United States Department of Transportation, www.faa.gov/space/spaceports_by_state.
