CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The commander of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center visited Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Friday, June 5, 2026, to tour the Eastern Range and review the unique civil engineering and infrastructure demands of the world's busiest spaceport. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman, who leads the commands responsible for delivering installation and mission support capabilities across the Department of the Air Force, met with local leadership to discuss how enterprise-level support integrates with rapid space operations.
During the visit, U.S. Space Force Col. Brian Chatman and his team outlined the specialized civil engineering mission and the vast scope of responsibility managed by Space Launch Delta 45 personnel. Several briefings were provided by local subject matter experts, ranging from resource protection and Cape expansion to financial chokepoints for funding processes needed to support infrastructure projects and delegated authorities for ensuring those projects keep pace with commercial launch partners.
The Eastern Range, the world's premier gateway to space, presents a distinct operational challenge within the Department of War. Several SLD 45 subject matter experts emphasized that infrastructure and engineering projects must move faster to match the speed of the launch service providers to sustain high-tempo national security and commercial missions. To meet these demands, launch service providers are increasingly requesting the opportunity to invest in infrastructure projects outside of their leased areas, recognizing these developments as critical to their future mission success.
"The spaceport of the future will require changing legacy mindsets and patterns of decision-making to move toward a modern, intentional bed-down strategy that matches our strategic national launch priorities and capacity needs moving toward 2040," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Clark Smith, the SLD 45 civil engineer squadron commander.
Many of these overlapping requirements are beneficial to building the “spaceport of the future” or the “unified spaceport” and senior leaders recognize they are critical to the future of U.S. space launch. The U.S. government benefits directly from launch partners moving at this accelerated pace, as it enhances National Security Space Launch provider resiliency and encourages the build-up of redundant space launch capabilities.
This collaborative investment is part of a broader effort across the Eastern Range. SLD 45 is actively working toward solutions to meet the Chief of Space Operations' intent for 2040, which projects an increased launch cadence from about 100 launches per year to nearly 1,000 launches per year from the Space Coast. Surging this operational tempo requires logistical support that spans SLD 45 operational functions, as well as LSP operations and Kennedy Space Center operations. During the visit leaders from the Delta warned that personnel shortages pose a significant hurdle.
"One of the biggest limitations we are facing is scarcity of labor," said U.S. Space Force Col. Brian Chatman, SLD 45 commander. "The jurisdiction for SLD 45 spans across the Eastern Range, with a mission to protect and defend NSSL assets and infrastructure, regardless of if the assets are on KCS or CCSFS property."
Subject matter experts from SLD 45 highlighted that the launch mission at the Eastern Range cannot be conducted safely without essential roles staffed by U.S. Air Force members. These critical USAF capabilities span security forces, civil engineering, HVAC specialists, comptroller services, contracting, emergency management, fire and rescue, and safety. Their functions range from procuring, producing and securing the infrastructure across the Eastern Range that enables rapid launch operations.
The Eastern Range operates in practice as a joint base, though it lacks the formal titles and authorities associated with that designation. Guardians, Airmen, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and Soldiers all call the Space Coast home, creating a highly collaborative environment that inherently introduces upfront logistical and coordination complexities to the decision-making process.
Space Launch Delta 45 experts also explained the importance of delegated authorities and the impact those will have as a function for empowering the LSPs to move fast and shift toward the 2040 objective of over 1,000 launches per year off the Eastern Range.
While all partners operating out of Cape Canaveral are working toward the shared vision of a "unified spaceport," administrative progress is frequently slowed by conflicting contracting authorities and legal requirements. Leaders note that streamlining these processes as points of friction through expanded delegated authorities would better align policy with strategic national security priorities and ensure safe and continuous launch operations.
"Delegated authorities are how the U.S. Government will match the speed of our commercial partners' ability to push toward 1,000 launches a year from this range," said U.S. Space Force Col. Joyce Bulson, SLD 45 deputy commander for operations. "It will enable modernized legal processes that work with the uniqueness of space launch at all USG ranges, ensuring our contracting, acquisitions, and finance lanes of effort work with the launch service providers in the best interest of national security."
In order to support the spaceport of the future and meet the CSO’s intent for space launch by 2040, it will take resourcing increases, primarily across manpower, and modernized policy changes that are adaptive to the distinct needs of space launch.