H.R. 3142: Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act of 2025

This bill, titled the Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act of 2025, proposes changes to the tax code to provide spaceports with similar financial advantages as airports. Here is a breakdown of the key provisions:

1. Treatment of Spaceports

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include spaceports alongside airports under certain exempt facility bond rules. This means:

• Exempt Facility Bonds: Spaceports will be able to issue bonds that are tax-exempt, similar to how airports can. This would potentially lower borrowing costs for developers and operators of spaceports.

2. Ground Leases

The bill also outlines specifics about ground leases for spaceports:

• Spaceport property leased from the United States will be treated as owned by a governmental unit, provided the lease meets certain requirements.

3. Definition of Spaceport

The legislation defines what constitutes a spaceport. A spaceport is characterized as any facility near a launch or reentry site that is used for:

• Manufacturing, assembling, or repairing spacecraft and related components.
• Flight control operations.
• Providing launch and reentry services.
• Transferring crew or cargo to and from spacecraft.

4. Public Use Requirement

Unlike other facilities that may need to be open to the public, a spaceport does not need to be publicly accessible to qualify as such for these tax purposes.

5. Manufacturing Facilities and Industrial Parks

The legislation clarifies that spaceport properties used for manufacturing or industrial purposes are permissible under the new rules.

6. Exception from Federally Guaranteed Bond Prohibition

Under this bill, bonds associated with spaceports will not be classified as federally guaranteed even if the United States (or its agencies) pays rent or user fees to use the spaceport facilities.

7. Exclusion from State Ceiling

Any exempt facility bond related to a spaceport will not count towards state ceilings that limit the amount of certain tax-exempt bonds that can be issued. This gives states more flexibility in financing spaceport projects.

8. Effective Date

The changes proposed by this bill will be effective for obligations issued after the bill is enacted.

Relevant Companies

• BA (Boeing): As a major player in the aerospace industry, Boeing's involvement in space launch services could be positively impacted by increased investment in spaceports.
• SPCE (Virgin Galactic): Virgin Galactic, which focuses on commercial spaceflight, may benefit from expanded infrastructure and financial incentives for spaceports.
• AXON (Axiom Space): Axiom Space, which plans to operate private space stations, could see enhanced opportunities with the development of more spaceport infrastructure.