Utah’s draft spaceport study recommends starting development at Delta and retaining Green River West for possible later operations. Presented to the Utah Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Exploration Committee on October 19, 2026, the initial draft study proposes a phased facility beginning with basic infrastructure, reentry support, and suborbital activities before expanding into inland orbital launch.
The recommendation follows screening of seven locations. Delta and Green River each received 60 points, ahead of Vernal, Kanab, Wendover, Promontory, and Bluff. The scoring considered market demand, costs, regulatory and environmental conditions, economic potential, proximity, and technical operations. The draft favors Delta for initial implementation despite the tied totals.
Initial Infrastructure and Later Expansion
The proposed first investment would provide roads, utilities, water, communications, buildings, and safety equipment. The study places initial infrastructure at approximately $35 million to $75 million, depending on the site and chosen activities. Rail improvements, underground fiber, and additional aviation-related facilities could increase that amount.
The larger capital program assumes later expansion as demand develops. For 2027–2036, the base-case model estimates nominal capital expenditure of about $203 million at Delta and $267 million at Green River West. These are alternative development scenarios, so their costs should not be added together as though Utah had approved both projects.
The difference is approximately $64 million. Both scenarios include an initial construction phase, a slower spending period, and subsequent investment associated with orbital launch. The estimates incorporate a 10% contingency and 3.5% annual cost escalation; they exclude the separately modeled maintenance capital program.
What the Safety Studies Establish
The technical work evaluates potential launch and reentry trajectories, noise, sonic booms, environmental conditions, and cultural resources. The consultants conclude that suitable operations could meet federal criteria. Their calculations are feasibility inputs, not Federal Aviation Administration approval of a particular vehicle or mission.
The reentry assessment demonstrates why vehicle and trajectory details matter. It considers small capsules under 200 pounds and larger vehicles around 25,000 pounds, using several approach directions and assumed failure probabilities. With a 10% assumed failure probability, the study reports that all analyzed combinations meet its cited public-risk criterion except a large vehicle approaching Delta on an ascending trajectory associated with a 40–50-degree orbital inclination.
That exception reflects population exposure along the flight path, including the Salt Lake Valley. A viable site can accommodate some combinations of vehicle, trajectory, and reliability without accommodating every combination. The draft also notes that changing vehicle or debris assumptions could alter aircraft hazard areas.
Site licensing and flight authorization are separate steps. The FAA explains that launch and reentry site operator licenses allow a spaceport to host activities that receive their own vehicle licenses or permits. New Space Economy’s explanation of FAA-authorized spaceports describes the same distinction between permission to operate a site and the activities conducted there.
Economic Output and Employment
The economic model separates construction effects from recurring operations and tourism. It estimates construction-related output of $251 million in Delta’s county and $354 million statewide, compared with $307 million locally and $464 million statewide for Green River. These amounts measure modeled economic activity, rather than revenue collected by the spaceport.
For steady-state operations and tourism, the corresponding annual output estimates are approximately $69 million locally and $117 million statewide at Delta, and $70 million locally and $124 million statewide at Green River. Statewide figures include the local activity; adding the two would double-count part of the estimate.
Construction employment is expressed in job-years, a measure combining the number of jobs and their duration. The model estimates 1,166 county job-years and 1,441 statewide job-years for Delta, compared with 1,399 and 1,872 for Green River. Those are temporary cumulative effects, not permanent positions.
The financial forecast extends from 2027 through 2069. It models nominal cumulative revenue of approximately $4.25 billion at Delta and $4.4 billion at Green River, with operating and maintenance spending of roughly $3.3 billion at either site. Separate maintenance capital estimates reach approximately $526 million and $539 million, respectively. The revenue figures assume 4% annual escalation and should not be treated as present-value returns or profit.
The draft recommends seeking legislative direction and funding by March 2027, followed by securing land at Delta, pursuing launch-site and reentry-site licenses, completing environmental review, and establishing a governance structure. Its implementation approach ties later construction to demand rather than committing the full orbital-launch buildout at the outset.
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