NASA’s infrastructure problems including $1 billion needed to revamp Kennedy Space Center could get an assist with a bill now introduced in both houses of Congress.
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Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who represents the Space Coast and is the chair of the US House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, is leading the lower chamber’s charge filing the Space Ready 2.0 Act on Monday. A version in the U.S. Senate was previously filed by Florida Sen. Ashley Moody.
Its primary goal would be to launch a pilot program that would let NASA partner with public and private entities to improve shared infrastructure at NASA centers including KSC.
“We can’t be number one on Earth if we’re number two in space,” said Rep. Haridopolos in a press release. “The Space Coast has always been at the heart of America’s space program. As more missions launch from Florida, we must ensure NASA has the infrastructure needed to support the next generation of exploration and keep America leading the world in space.”
A NASA Office of the Inspector General audit recently outlined issues at KSC because of the increased launch rate in recent years as well as the demand expected from bigger rockets like SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy.
The audit forecasts the Space Coast will be near capacity for supporting launches by 2028 or 2029, and projects as many as 268 launches from all companies by 2030. Even though a good portion of those launches will be on neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, many of the launch needs rely on infrastructure that runs through KSC and falls under NASA’s responsibility.
That includes the electrical grid, the supply of propellants, wastewater requirements and the roads that connect the two launch properties.
The pilot program would allow for voluntary donations to a fund to support infrastructure, and open the door for companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to contribute, something current law does not allow for NASA, although the Space Force can take such donations.
The limitation for NASA has tied the agency’s hands on infrastructure upgrades so that it could rely only on congressional appropriations, which has contributed to a backlog of infrastructure repairs across all of NASA’s properties.
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“We were doing a lot more, not just with NASA, but with commercial space, and since they’re using some of our facilities, it only makes sense when they want to make an investment, we should not prohibit them from doing so,” Haridopolos said during an interview with the Sentinel in June. “I think this is a win-win situation.”
He noted both SpaceX and Blue Origin, while private, are really partners in NASA’s efforts to get back to the moon. Both are tasked with building lunar landers to support the Artemis program.
“So if they want to make investments, we shouldn’t deny them that,” he said. “Consider we’re in essence business partners, and as long as it’s all done transparently, which I believe in strongly, it should be a win for the taxpayers and allow us to progress more quickly.”
He said the fund could support everything from major projects like building out launch pads to simpler needs, such as reworking the badging system.
“It’s still very antiquated. There’s a bunch of people who would love to say, ‘Hey, we can come up with a badging system that works better, faster, so you don’t have some of these backups in the gate’,” he said. “We have so much going on at the gate that sometimes you have traffic jams just getting on or behind the fence.”
Within the bill are transparency safeguards including required cost estimates, project timelines, annual reports to Congress and clear cost-sharing agreements.
Any unused private contributions would be refunded or potentially redirected to other eligible projects.
This pilot program would be shut down by the end of 2031.
“The Space Ready 2.0 Act is a commonsense solution that empowers NASA and its commercial partners to modernize aging facilities without creating new spending programs, ensuring we remain competitive and mission ready,” said Sen. Moody.