ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Space Force is grappling with a persistent constraint in the commercial space boom: not enough room to prepare satellites for launch. Despite having the capacity to handle more rocket launches, a senior official said payload processing facilities at major spaceports are becoming a critical bottleneck in launch operations.
Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, commander of the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral, highlighted this challenge Jan. 28 at the Space Mobility Conference. Following a record-breaking 93 launches from Florida in 2024, Panzenhagen said she could not provide an estimate of the range’s maximum launch capacity, pointing instead to payload processing as the primary limiting factor.
“I’m not going to define a max capacity, because there’s just a lot of different pieces that go into that,” Panzenhagen told reporters. “The bottleneck itself is that really we just don’t have enough payload processing space.”
The issue has become particularly acute given the rise of rideshare missions like those launched by SpaceX, where dozens of satellites from different organizations share a single rocket, each requiring unique handling procedures and security protocols.
As commercial companies have dramatically increased launch cadence at Cape Canaveral, the infrastructure for preparing satellites for these launches hasn’t kept pace. The existing facilities — a mix of NASA, commercial, and hybrid operations — are struggling to handle the increased volume and complexity of modern space missions.
Government agencies and private sector operators compete for limited space in these facilities,, said Panzenhagen.
“With the higher cadence, and then also with the multi manifested missions … those payloads have to be processed differently, different clean room standards, different security standards,” she explained. “That’s taking up a tremendous amount of space, and causing bottlenecks.”
Seeking commercial solutions
To address the problem, the Space Systems Command issued a “Commercial Solutions Opening” seeking proposals for both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Space Force is searching for solutions beyond traditional infrastructure expansions, considering novel approaches to payload processing.
“We’re also looking for solutions that could really change the processes that we use within the processing,” Panzenhagen said, suggesting possibilities like “a bay within a bay” concept that could maximize existing space utilization.
The Space Force is actively seeking congressional funding for these initiatives, and Panzenhagen expressed cautious optimism about securing funds in 2025. The command is currently reviewing proposals from commercial vendors, with contract awards expected later this year.
She noted that this infrastructure challenge highlights the evolution in the commercial space industry: as launch capabilities expand, ground operations and payload processing are becoming the next area in need of innovation.
