Where will the spaceport be located?
There are no plans to build a spaceport currently. The purpose of the Concho Valley Council of Governments (CVCOG) spaceport feasibility study is to identify a suitable location for a potential inland launch facility within the 14-county CVCOG service area. The team is evaluating whether a spaceport would be viable and if so, where it could potentially be located.
It is important to note that this study does not confirm that a spaceport will be developed. No decisions have been made to move forward with development at this time.
Who is paying for this study? And why?
The feasibility study is funded through a grant from the Texas Space Commission. The CVCOG was awarded $500,000 through the Space Exploration & Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) to conduct this study.
The State of Texas is increasingly prioritizing investment in the space industry as part of its broader economic development strategy. These efforts are aimed at attracting private companies, supporting new technologies, and strengthening Texas’s role in the rapidly growing space industry by investing in this sector, Texas is working to create jobs, expand economic opportunities, and remain competitive in the evolving space economy.
What factors are considered when looking at possible locations for a spaceport in the Concho Valley?
A wide range of factors are considered when identifying potential locations for a spaceport. These include physical site characteristics, available infrastructure and utilities, environmental conditions, presence of cultural resources, access to resources, and transportation logistics.
The study also evaluates flight safety requirements, noise / sonic boom impacts, airspace considerations, and other applicable regulations to ensure any potential site can support a spaceport safely and effectively.
These factors are reviewed together to identify locations that are both feasible and compatible with surrounding land uses.
How is the study considering our region’s limited water resources?
Spaceports use water primarily during rocket launches (a deluge system) to help reduce heat and noise at the launch pad to prevent damage to the rocket itself, and reduce impacts to the surrounding region. While a material amount of water may be used during a launch (more water for larger rockets, less water for smaller rockets), the water is typically stored well in advance and is not a continuous demand. Brackish water is usable in the deluge system, once passed through a reverse osmosis system or other filtration mechanism.
Up to half of the water is converted to steam during launch, and the remaining water is collected and managed through designed drainage systems for treatment and reuse. Spaceport operations are subject to environmental regulations that require careful planning for water use, storage, and discharge.
How will a spaceport impact the area’s economy?
A spaceport may support economic activity by creating jobs, attracting new businesses, and generating new or additional spending in the surrounding region. This includes not only on-site jobs, but also indirect benefits such as local services, construction, new business in space-adjacent technologies, and visitor activity.
For example, within the remote southwestern United States, the Spaceport America 2025 Annual Report found that Spaceport America supported approximately 790 total jobs and generated about $239 million in economic output in 2024 for the City of Las Cruces and the Doña Ana and Sierra counties region of southwestern NM. These impacts came from a combination of tenant operations, construction, and visitor spending. Should a spaceport be proposed for the Concho Valley region, the understanding of costs, benefits, and potential impact will be further investigated.
Please see full Spaceport America / Southwest NM Regional Economic Impact Report HERE.
What is the impact on livestock, wildlife, and exotic animals?
Spaceport operations, particularly rocket launches, can create short-term noise that may startle humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife. Animals may briefly react by moving away from the direction of the noise source.
These effects are temporary and limited to the duration of the launch noise. Launches are scheduled events rather than continuous activity, and their frequency plays an important role in how noticeable impacts may be over time. With regard to wildlife and rocket noise, it is noted that the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge surrounds and encompasses the largest launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center. And the area immediately around the launch complexes are also one of the most abundant wildlife population concentrations on the East Coast of the United States.
More information about Cape Canaveral and its surrounding wildlife areas can be found HERE.
What will the spaceport be used for?
There are 8 traditional use cases (i.e. potential uses) associated with spaceports. Some facilities experience all of the use cases, other spaceports only embrace one or two. The Concho Valley Spaceport Feasibility Study is evaluating all 8 for their applicability to a regional spaceport. In the end, the decision to pursue a particular use case will be determined by the entity or company who decides to operate from a spaceport.
- Use Case 1 – Engine Test / Multi-Modal Proving Ground: A spaceport site could be used for testing rocket engines and developing new technologies. In addition to space-related testing, the site could support a variety of other uses including research and development, satellite communications, and other advanced technologies.
- Use Case 2 – Aviation / Autonomous Areal Operations: A spaceport site could be used for aviation activities, like a small airport. This may include testing aircraft as well as operating unmanned aerial systems, such as drones. Some of these activities would require a traditional runway, while others could operate from shorter or more basic airstrips, depending on the type of aircraft or equipment being used. Operations could range from low-altitude drone flights to higher-altitude aviation activities.
- Use Case 3 – Horizontal Launch and Landing Suborbital: This type of operation involves aircraft that take off and land on a runway, rather than launching vertically like a traditional rocket. A carrier aircraft releases a smaller spacecraft at high altitude, which then travels to the edge of space before returning to Earth. For example, companies like Virgin Galactic use this approach, where a large aircraft carries a space vehicle to high altitude before it separates and continues its flight.
- Use Case 4 – Horizontal Launch and Landing Orbital: This type of operation uses an aircraft to carry a rocket, but instead of reaching the edge of space, the rocket continues into orbit around Earth. The aircraft takes off from a runway, flies to a high altitude, and releases the rocket, which then ignites and carries a payload into space. The first stage of the rocket is jettisoned for a controlled landing (and reuse) or is expended safely.
- Use Case 5 – Vertical Launch and Landing / Suborbital: This type of operation involves rockets that launch straight up from a pad. These flights typically travel to the edge of space and then return to Earth, rather than entering orbit.
- Use Case 6 – Vertical Launch and Landing / Suborbital P2P: This type of operation involves a rocket launching vertically from one location and landing at a different location. This is sometimes referred to as “point-to-point” travel. These systems may be used for research, testing, or the rapid transportation of payloads over long distances. After launching, the vehicle follows a controlled path and lands in a designated area away from the launch site.
- Use Case 7 – Vertical Launch and Landing / Orbital: The traditional “rocket launch” that is seen being performed by SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets with a first stage booster landing either back at the launch site, or downrange.
- Use Case 8 – Orbital Re-entry Operations: This type of operation involves spacecraft returning to Earth after traveling in orbit. These vehicles may include capsules or spaceplanes that are designed to safely reenter the atmosphere and land at a designated site.
Please see the Public Meeting posters linked BELOW for more information on Use Cases and examples.
Why is Concho Valley looking at Spaceport possibilities when Midland International Air & Spaceport is 2 hours away?
As a suborbital, horizontal launch facility licensed by the FAA, the Midland Air and Space Port has constraints in the variety of use cases that are possible. For inland orbital launch, population center limits their ability to conduct many of the more demanding of the eight Use Cases discussed above. The Concho Valley may be better suited for other vertical launch use cases than the Midland International Air and Space Port.
Will Spaceport activities impact wind, natural gas, or oil production and facilities located nearby?
There is currently no evidence that space launch operations affect oil, gas, or wind energy production.
Rocket launches do produce short-term noise and minor surface-level vibration, but these effects are fairly weak near the launch site and decrease rapidly with distance. Studies have shown that these vibrations are primarily a consideration for launching facilities themselves and are not significant at greater distances.
