Commercial Spaceports Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Commit to Expanding International Collaboration

Eight commercial spaceports located across five continents signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) over the weekend at the FAA's International Spaceport Meeting. The MOU will establish a forum to explore potential strategic collaboration in a range of areas of common interest and introduce a dialogue on establishing international spaceport standards. The signatories believe these discussions will strengthen assured access to space and improve affordability.
“This partnership demonstrates our collective commitment to underscore the importance of spaceports, supporting their future, and enabling a new era of innovation, security, and economic growth in the space industry."
Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer, Virginia Spaceport Authority
The discussions facilitated by this MOU will also aid in the creation of shared opportunities to introduce technology innovations and foster global cooperation in the rapidly growing commercial space sector.
The MOU was initially developed by Space Center Australia (SCA) and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Spaceport Authority or VSA). Spaceports are adapting to the proliferation of new launch providers, the accelerating rate and breadth of change in space launch tempo and modes of operations, and the introduction of new launch vehicle and propulsion technologies. In doing so, the senior leaders of both organizations noted that, unlike the air transportation industry, no standing body exists for commercial spaceports to increase decision-makers’ awareness and understanding that spaceports are the unique irreplaceable foundation for all space activities. These facilities also are increasingly important to their host nations’ economic, national, and homeland security interests, and to the prosperity and stability of the international community.
The MOU establishes an intent to create a collaboration between commercial spaceport signatories to enable strategic collaboration, information and expertise sharing, and inclusive decision-making for topics of commonality and mutual benefit. As such, the signatories will establish an Executive Committee with an initial action to identify and prioritize the issues to be considered collectively, develop mechanisms for improved information sharing, and identify areas to enable interoperability resilience among spaceports MOU signatories. The Executive Committee also will establish working groups as needed.
The spaceports represented here today view today’s signing as an important first step to best position themselves and other commercial spaceports around the globe to collaborate and adapt successfully to a continuing tectonic transformation of every sector of space activities. With those objectives in mind, the MOU will remain open for other commercial spaceports to become signatories and help shape the course of future space endeavors in the 21st century.
The inaugural signatories to the MOU include:
Esrange Space Center, Swedish Space Corporation, Sweden
Hokkaido Spaceport, SPACE COTAN Co., Ltd., Japan
Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Spaceport Authority), USA
Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, Alaska Aerospace Corporation, USA
SaxaVord Spaceport, Scotland, United Kingdom
Space Centre Australia, Australia
Stargate Peru S.A.C., Peru
Sutherland Spaceport, Orbital Express Launch Limited, Scotland, United Kingdom.
“The signing of this MOU signifies a historic first in international commercial spaceport collaboration,” said Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer, CEO & Executive Director of Virginia Spaceport Authority. “This partnership demonstrates our collective commitment to underscore the importance of spaceports, supporting their future, and enabling a new era of innovation, security, and economic growth in the space industry. By aligning our efforts and combining our strengths, we can create a framework that supports the development of safe, sustainable spaceports that support growing demand.”
“This MOU represents a significant step forward in the development of global spaceport operations. By working together to establish standardized practices, we can enhance the resilience and responsiveness of launch systems, benefiting key stakeholders, including payload owners, investors, and regulatory agencies," said James Palmer, CEO of Space Center Australia. "This collaboration will help ensure that spaceports worldwide operate with greater efficiency and care, ultimately leading to more reliable and sustainable outcomes for the entire space industry. Through these partnerships, we are also opening the door to shared innovations that will drive continued progress in this rapidly evolving sector.”