A new report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General finds that launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center are aging and struggling to meet rising demand from commercial rockets. The assessment highlights limits on roads, gas supplies, and pads as SpaceX and Blue Origin plan frequent heavy-lift flights.
The report, released this week, states that NASA’s infrastructure at the Florida spaceport is dated and lacks capacity for the agency and its partners. It notes that supply lines for helium and nitrogen, along with 231 miles of roads, serve both Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Gaseous nitrogen shortages already caused scheduling problems during the New Glenn-1 mission in January 2025. A $25 million upgrade to the system remains unfunded, the report says.
SpaceX has told NASA it plans Starship launches every eight days from Launch Complex 39A. Combined projections from SpaceX and Blue Origin reach 240 annual launches of super heavy vehicles by 2035. Budgets for construction and maintenance at Kennedy have fallen between 11 and 47 percent since 2021 after inflation adjustments.
