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42 J. Space L. 38 (2018-2019)
Here a Spaceport, There a Spaceport, Everywhere a Spaceport

handle is hein.journals/jrlsl42 and id is 42 raw text is: HERE A SPACEPORT, THERE A SPACEPORT, EVERYWHERE A SPACEPORT? Michelle L.D. Hanlon* ABSTRACT Arguably, the first location that can be considered a spaceport is located on an island in the Baltic Sea. Peenemiinde, Germany was the launch site of the first human-made object to reach space: a German V-2 rocket. Developed as a weapon, the first successful test flight of the V-2 in 1942 nevertheless heralded the birth of space travel. It was not long before the Soviet Union and the United States were testing launch systems from sites like Baikonur, Ka- zakhstan and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, re- spectively. In the decades since that first launch, space has come to. play an integral, if not vital, role in the daily lives of humans. More and more nations have become spacefaring, and more and more commercial entities are investing or engaged in space activities. Commercial spaceports are literally popping up all over the world. In seeking to appreciate this phenomenon, this article provides an overview of the current 9tatus of the commercial spaceport industry in the United States. It commences with a review of the federal reg- ulatory framework which has supported the genesis and growth of spaceports. It evaluates the development progress and success of existing spaceports as well as new legislation designed to sustain this growth. Ultimately, it offers recommendations to nations and entities and encourages communities to welcome the construction of a spaceport as a first sustainable step to the future. * Michelle L.D. Hanlon is a founding partner of ABH Aerospace, LLC and co- founder of For All Moonkind, Inc. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Yale College, her J.D. magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center and her LL.M. in Air and Space Law from McGill University.