Budget Reconciliation Bill Contains Space Launch Fees
If Approved, FAA Would Begin Collecting Feel Next Year
The text of both the House and Senate versions of the Budget Reconciliation Bill, also known as the "Big Beautiful Bill", contains a provision to begin charging space companies a fee for launching rockets next year. According to the Senate text of the bill, starting in 2026, the Secretary of Transportation would impose fees on each space launch or reentry under a license or permit.
The fee will be the lesser of:
A specified amount per pound of payload weight, which increases annually from $0.25 in 2026 to $1.50 in 2033, with further adjustments based on the consumer price index, or
A fixed amount per launch or reentry, starting at $30,000 in 2026 and increasing to $200,000 in 2033, also adjusted annually based on the consumer price index.
The Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) would collect the fees, and deposit them into a dedicated fund to be used for administrative expenses. Some 70 percent of the collected fees would be available for the Office's expenses without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation.
The potential impact to the commercial launch industry is additional costs for each launch or reentry, calculated based on payload weight or a fixed amount. This could significantly impact their budgets, especially for frequent launches. Companies would need to incorporate these fees into their financial planning and pricing strategies, potentially leading to higher costs for their customers.
The House version of the bill passed last month contains very similar language to the Senate version, meaning if the Congress passes the reconciliation bill, the commercial space industry will be contributing to the regulatory and operational costs of space launches and reentries. There are other areas of disagreement between the House and Senate versions of the bill which still must be hammered out before final passage.
House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has set a self-imposed deadline of July 4 to have the bill on the President's desk.