A fire at a radar tracking station has delayed launches from the Eastern Test Range at Cape Canveral until mid-April, at the earliest, Space Florida reports.

This incident underscores a point which the late space visionary G. Harry Stine hammered home more than 20 years ago: a successful commercial launch vehicle must not be dependent on conventional range systems. Government ranges and launch sites are too fragile and too expensive for frequent, cheap access to space.

That point was duly noted by engineers who built the Delta Clipper Experimental (better known as DC-X) in the 1990’s. Delta Clipper proponents envisioned an operational system that would support thousands of launches per year, not the paltry dozen or so provided by expendable rockets. Achieving that goal would require drastic reductions in the size of the “standing army,” to achieve the desired economies, and ground facilities that operated more like commercial airports than guided-missile ranges.

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A new promotional video for Spaceport Sweden, a proposed suborbital launch site 100 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

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Spaceport America will take out loans for $21 million to build visitor centers at the spaceport and in the town of Truth or Consequences, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.

The visitor centers are critical to the Spaceport Authority’s business model, which predicts 200,000 visitors per year (about 550 on an average day).

The State of New Mexico included $15 million for visitor center construction in the spaceport’s $209 million budget appropriation two years ago. That money is no longer available, however, due to cost escalation (including the recent requirement to add a $7 million runway extension). The state Board of Finance has given the Spaceport Authority to seek private loans instead. The loans would be secured by mortgages against the visitor-center buildings.

Commercial spaceflights from the proposed spaceport at Ellington Airport, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center, could begin by 2018, according to a planning document presented by the Houston Airport System.

A research and business park could be operation by 2016, with visiting flights by space launch systems beginning in 2018 and Ellington-based spaceflight operations in 2020. The timeline appeared in a July 2013 presentation to the Houston City Council by Houston Airport System director of aviation Mario Diaz and senior executive for business development Arturo Machuca.

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Ellington Airport, located near Johnson Space Center, just south of Houston, could become the nation’s ninth licensed commercial spaceport.

The Houston Airport System unveiled part of its vision for the future of Ellington Airport today. Conceptual renderings of a possible Spaceport have been released to the public. Renderings show a terminal facility, an aviation museum and accompanying aerospace industries. The unveiling occurred as the City of Houston prepared to host the annual meeting of the Commercial Space Federation.

“This is a new and exciting sector of the 21st Century economy that carries amazing potential for growth,” said Houston Mayor Annise Parker. “We believe a licensed Spaceport in Houston would not only serve as an economic generator for the city but it would also enhance Houston’s well-deserved reputation as a leader and key player in the aerospace industry.”

Houston City Council members agreed with that assessment on July 17, 2013, when they voiced their overwhelming support for the pursuit of Spaceport licensing at Ellington Airport. If the required license is secured, the Houston Airport System could move forward to establish the infrastructure and support facilities needed to accommodate enterprises such as component and composite fabrication, space-vehicle assembly, launching of micro-satellites, astronaut training, zero-gravity experimentation and space tourism.

“It’s important to realize that this type of work is already taking place today,” said Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz. “This is not a conversation based on science fiction or futuristic projections. This is a conversation about how Houston can access and enhance an industry that is already well-established and growing exponentially.”

“It is gratifying to see Houston emerge as the latest applicant to join the growing network of spaceports across the country,” said Commercial Spaceflight Federation president Michael Lopez-Alegria. “The area has many attributes that appeal to commercial space entities, including geographical location that allows easy access to offshore airspace, a strong and diverse economy that provides an educated and skilled workforce, and of course a long tradition of close association with human spaceflight.”

The launches proposed for Ellington Airport would be limited to horizontal takeoff reusable spacecraft. Since receiving City Council approval, the Houston Airport System has been working through the countless details associated with the project.

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A group of New Mexico legislators led by Sen. John Arthur Smith (D-Demming) is warning that the $200-million Spaceport America “could become a ghost town, with tumbleweeds crossing the runways” if critical liability legislation is not passed.

The New Mexico legislature has passed a liability law that protects space-transportation operators such as Virgin Galactic, but the bill does not cover vehicle manufacturers and part suppliers. That omission puts New Mexico “at a terrible disadvantage” relative to Texas, Colorado, Florida, and Virginia, Smith said.

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Southern Georgia has joined the rapidly growing list of potential commercial spaceports sites.

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The Camden County Joint Development Authority announced today that its board has voted to explore the development of an “Aero-Spaceport” on land currently owned by Union Carbide Corporation and formerly leased to Bayer CropScience. In addition to functioning as a spaceport, the project would allow the city of St. Marys to relocate the existing St. Marys Municipal Airport away from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, the largest employer in the region. Senior Navy officials have stated that the existing airport poses safety and security concerns.

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The proposed Aero-Spaceport site includes more than 4,000 acres of land, a small private airfield, and a rocket-engine testing facility that was used during the Apollo program. Saturn rocket engines were shipped to the site by barge along the adjoining Intracoastal Waterway.

Other sites for the new St. Marys Airport are under consideration, but none of those sites have the same spaceport potential. Joint Development Authority  executive director David Keating said, “Launching off out over marsh and then to ocean-based airspace, that’s what’s so special about this property, quick access to ocean-based airspace. And because of these unique features, the property has been generating significant attention for amongst aerospace and commercial-space companies.”

The Georgia Department of Economic Development has been exploring the market potential of a commercial spaceport at the site and reports “significant industry interest.”  The proposed spaceport would accommodate both horizontal and vertical launches. Horizontal-launch vehicles would share dual-use facilities with the new airport.

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If the project receives the necessary funding and regulatory approval, construction could begin as early as 2014. Initial Aero-Spaceport operations could begin in late 2014 or early 2015.