Every time a rocket takes to the skies carrying a satellite or cargo to the International Space Station, air traffic controllers on the ground must take important steps to ensure the safety of commercial and passenger aircraft.
Controllers hired by the Federal Aviation Administration close the airspace, provide real-time information about the rocket and its debris, and reopen the airspace immediately after the launch is complete.
But unlike airlines, which pay federal taxes for the work of air traffic controllers every time a plane takes off, private space companies don't have to pay for launches. That includes companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has launched more than 300 rockets in the past 15 years that carry satellites for its Starlink internet service. There were many things.
The Biden administration is trying to change that. President Biden's latest budget proposal, released last month, suggests that commercial space companies will start paying for their use of government resources.
Private space companies are exempt from the aviation excise tax that feeds the coffers of the Airports and Airways Trust Fund, which pays for the FAA's operations, bringing in about $18 billion in tax revenue this fiscal year. This tax is primarily paid by commercial airlines and is 7.5% of each ticket price plus an additional fee of approximately $5 to $20 per passenger, depending on the destination of each flight.
Biden's budget proposal promises to work with Congress to overhaul the tax system and share the costs of operating the nation's air traffic control system. His pledge was based in part on an independent safety review report commissioned by the FAA that recommended updating the federal government's excise tax on private space companies.
“Each time SpaceX launches a flight, it conducts extensive operations to clear the airspace near the launch window for hours,” said David Grizzle, author of the safety report and former chief operating officer of the air transportation agency. “This will require significant air traffic control resources.” Within the FAA, which employs air traffic controllers. “And again, the payout is zero.”
SpaceX did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Biden's call to overhaul the decades-old excise tax structure is part of his effort to make wealthy Americans and wealthy companies “pay their fair share.” In his State of the Union address last month, Biden also called for higher taxes on individual and corporate jet users, including raising the tax on jet fuel from 21.8 cents a gallon to $1.06 a gallon over five years. It is. The fuel tax currently accounts for about 3% of the trust fund's annual revenue and is highly dependent on what commercial airlines and their passengers pay.
But commercial space companies don't contribute to that fund, and they don't cover the costs the public incurs when launching a rocket, said former FAA-certified aircraft dispatcher and senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. said one William J. McGee. Consumer advocacy group.
“This is a fundamental equity issue,” McGee said. “It's the same as highways that have toll structures and wave to certain users and not others.”
Former air traffic controllers say launching rockets is a time-consuming process for the FAA. The agency would be required to develop a detailed plan outlining the exact airspace to close and reroute the aircraft before launching. The controller also needs to react quickly if something goes wrong.
“Think of launching into space like a hurricane landing,” says Michael, a former air traffic controller who worked for the FAA for more than 30 years and now teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. McCormick says.
Hurricanes disrupt plans, shut down airports, and force planes to be rerouted. McCormick said rocket launches require similarly complex planning by controllers.
“Florida has one of the highest concentrations of commercial air traffic, but the system is still under pressure,” said Michael P. Huerta, who served as FAA administrator in the Obama and Trump administrations and currently serves as FAA administrator. We are starting to see very real impacts.” Chairman of the safety review committee that prepared the report. Currently, commercial rockets primarily take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Cape Canaveral, Florida, near Orlando.
The number of space launches has increased dramatically in recent years, led by SpaceX, which puts dozens of satellites into Earth's orbit every month. In recent years, some of NASA's missions have been outsourced to commercial space companies that deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
In 2023, the FAA will oversee 117 launches, a significant increase from just 15 a decade ago. More than 30 rockets have been launched so far this year, and by 2024 the number will exceed last year's number. The number of launches also includes U.S. rockets that took off from New Zealand, and New Zealand's space agency, along with the FAA, regulates launches within New Zealand.
The increase in launches has also led the FAA to devote more resources to overseeing and permitting space activities that are separate from the work of air traffic controllers. The administration is requesting $57 million in commercial space industry permits and licenses for fiscal year 2025, up from about $37 million in 2023. The FAA added 33 new employees to its industry licensing and oversight office last year.
Private space companies are rejecting the Biden administration's proposal to pay an aviation tax. Industry players argue that it is still in its early stages, with most companies struggling to break even. They also point out that it takes only about 15 seconds for a rocket to cross the airspace, and the number of rocket launches remains negligible compared to the approximately 16 million flights the FAA handles each year. are doing.
Karina Dries, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group representing more than 80 companies and universities, said taxing the industry “is not appropriate at this time.” She added, “The commercial space industry continues to work closely with FAA regulators to improve coordination of launch activities and avoid unnecessary impacts to U.S. airspace.”
But Huerta and Grizzle said Congress should start considering ways to tax the industry in anticipation of the launch boom that has already begun.
The authors of an independent safety report said further rocket launches would put even more pressure on air traffic control systems already crippled by underfunding, understaffing and overwork. Dozens of crashes reported last year – incidents in which commercial planes came dangerously close to each other – show that the FAA's safety margins are already thin.
The combination of staffing shortages and lack of funding for new equipment “creates a perfect storm for something much more serious,” Grizzle said. “The situation is made worse by the proliferation of new entrants who pay no taxes at all.”
The FAA said in a statement that the agency is “committed to safely addressing rapidly increasing space operations while minimizing disruption to aircraft users.”