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SpaceX tells the FAA it expects 10,000 launches a year
In a comment to the DOT and FAA, SpaceX says it expects 10,000 launches a year of its own and asks for priority launch corridors, approval within 48 hours and no airspace fees. TSN and AviNews covered the filing.
Why it matters: SpaceX says airspace rules, not rockets, now limit launch cadence. Corridor priority would shape how often Starship flies from Texas and Louisiana.
Illustration: launch corridors and shared airspace.
Beam42 / AI-generated
SpaceX has told the federal government it expects to fly 10,000 launches a year on its own, and that air traffic rules, not rocket production, now set the pace. The company made the case in a 24-page comment letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, dated Oct. 26 and posted to the public docket a day later. It was signed by Mat Dunn, SpaceX's vice president of government affairs.
The letter answers a request for information the Department of Transportation and the FAA published on Aug. 25. That notice asked where new spaceports should go and how "critical space launch corridors" with priority airspace should work. It is not a rule, and comments closed on Oct. 26. The notice itself projects 10,000 FAA-licensed launches and reentries a year across the whole US by 2035. SpaceX counts 182 licensed launches and seven licensed reentries in 2025.
SpaceX asks that missions flying inside a corridor get airspace priority, automatic airspace approval within 48 hours of a request, and a waiver of airspace fees. It says closures still average a little over two hours per launch, while the FAA's own corridor concept expects launch windows of under three minutes, AviNews reported. The letter also says its Cleared platform, which shows launch status and live hazard areas, is offered at no cost to most major US airlines, and it argues for adding pads at existing complexes rather than opening new federal land.
The planned Starbase site in Louisiana is designed for about 30 launches and reentries per day, the letter says. Elon wrote on X this week that 10,000 Starship launches a year would come from that site alone, according to TSN. Other comments in the same docket came from Louisiana wildlife groups and residents, who asked regulators to study the site at the cadence SpaceX plans, and from Airlines for America, which said its members expect serious impacts to their operations.
Key facts
- SpaceX filed comment FAA-2026-9736-0263 on Oct. 26, expecting 10,000 launches a year of its own (regulations.gov).
- The DOT and FAA request projects 10,000 licensed US launches and reentries a year by 2035 (Federal Register).
- Requests include corridor priority, approval within 48 hours and no airspace fees (TSN).
- Starbase Louisiana is designed for about 30 launches and reentries a day (The Tech Signal).
How to read it
This is a company's answer to an open question from regulators, not an FAA decision. No rule has been proposed yet, and the letter puts no date on the 10,000 figure. The next step to watch is whether the department turns the corridor idea into a formal proposal.
Independence
Beam42 wrote this note from the SpaceX comment letter and the Federal Register notice, with independent reporting from TSN, AviNews and The Tech Signal. It is not a company release.
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