Merritt Island – After Trump signed the “big and beautiful bill” last week, the country’s space bridge has become available for the first time tax-free bonds, and the Space Coast appears to be profitable.
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody detailed what it means for Florida’s Florida headquarters and the state’s Aerospace Finance and Development Bureau.
“This applies to all space ports, but I know this is the busiest and most important,” she said of the nearby Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. “After we passed this, we’ve already heard from private business entities who want to be part of, help, and help here in space on the Space Coast.”
The state has three officially designated space pillars. The KSC and CCSFS constitute what is known as the Cape Canaveral Space Plant, with nearby Titusville being the Space Coast Regional Airport and Space Port, and Jacksonville being the Space Port of Cecil. The state also has potential future spaces from the Panhandle to the Key.
Bipartisan efforts in both Congressional organizations could be inserted into tax-exempt bond allowances on the bill, providing a better option to fund space port infrastructure without resorting to federal funds.
“The passing of this policy tells us a big moment that I have insisted on how we see and treat American space,” said Rob Long, CEO of Florida. “By exempting SpacePort bonds, Spaceports are ultimately officially standing equally in airports, ports and other modes of transportation.”
He says the provision unlocks long-term investment tools that help fund things like roads and buildings that may attract customers. This is an approach that can bring about big movers like SpaceX. It is currently in the midst of a $1.8 billion project to build support infrastructure for large Starship rockets.
“Our goal has always been to reduce barriers to the financial and infrastructure of space. Period, the end of the story,” Long said. “But as we fund the development of airports and seaports that serve both public and private users, Spaceports is a shared asset that supports national security, commercial activities, exploration, innovation and of course workforce development.”
He calls them future trade ports, and access to tax-free bonds can reduce costs and allow groups like Space Florida to meet demand faster.
“This new policy provides a powerful tool, but it should also enable new investments in communities across the state and across the country, even when stakeholders are ready to develop space transport infrastructure,” he said.
That could help the state lead the way, said Greg Autry, the school’s College of Business and the space emperor at the University of Central Florida.
“Politicians here in Florida actually cared about space,” he said. “I was about to start a meeting with staff members as a California Senator or professor at the University of Southern California, and we talked about space.
But he has always found that Florida’s state and federal elected officials were ready to listen.
“We’re going to bring in private capital, as mentioned before, that would be good for the rest of the country, whether they like it or not,” he said. “But the surprising thing is that it’s good for the world.”
Autry cited the illusion of competition with China, reflecting the long and moody.
“I grew up in the Star Trek generation. For me, it is very important that the American values of personal dignity and freedom are what we carry to the stars,” he said. “The outcome of that space race is not just our pride, but the future of humanity.”
