The fiscal 2024 defense policy bill allows the U.S. Space Force to collect additional fees from commercial companies that operate at its space launch ranges. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., said the change in policy is a win for the Space Force, particularly for companies at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The provision limits the amount of indirect fees the Space Force can collect to 30% of what a company is contracted to pay in direct costs, with a cap of $5 million per year.
As launch rates surge at its East and West Coast ranges, the Space Force has shifted toward a model of running its launch facilities more like commercial airports. The service’s FY24 budget request included $1.3 billion over the next five years for infrastructure projects aimed at increasing the number of launches.
The change in how the Space Force collects range fees is one of two major policy changes the service sought heading into the FY24 legislative cycle. The other involves streamlining the process for leasing federal land around military bases to commercial companies. Carbajal proposed an amendment to give the Space Force more authority to lease land for space launch companies, but it did not pass. He plans to push for its inclusion in the FY25 policy bill.
