The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a request for information July 7 seeking details on offshore orbital launch concepts, part of a federal push to ease congestion at existing spaceports like Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg. BOEM is considering both repurposed oil and gas infrastructure and purpose-built floating platforms within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, extending 200 nautical miles offshore. The RFI asks companies to detail proposed locations, technical approaches, and environmental and legal considerations ahead of potential interagency policy development.
The effort aligns with the White House's work on an updated national space transportation policy expected to address spaceport infrastructure and incentivize private investment. Companies like Seagate Space, which has designed a floating launch platform with backing from Firefly Aerospace and Lockheed Martin, have already signaled interest in responding. According to Seagate's chief operating officer, the discussion has shifted from whether offshore launch is feasible to how the U.S. develops a safe and commercially viable capability, with offshore operations intended to complement land-based sites by expanding capacity and operational flexibility.