Episode summary
Why the US and China Need Latin America for Space
Wall Street Week
· · Guests: Burton Catledge, Ryan Burkardt, Kari Bingen
Summary
A new commercial spaceport in Pedernales, Dominican Republic is being pitched as a solution to a growing launch bottleneck as satellite demand surges toward 2030. The host says the market needs tens of thousands of satellites launched, while the guests argue that U.S. launch infrastructure is already strained and that launch sites near the equator offer efficiency and safety advantages.
The project, led by Launch on Demand, is built around a $600 million first phase and four launch pads. The guests say the Dominican Republic site was selected for its low population density, coastal geography, and ability to support a faster licensing process than the current U.S. system. The company says it wants to complement, not compete with, U.S. spaceports and to use the same safety standards that apply in the United States.
Beyond the business case, the episode frames spaceports in Latin America as part of a wider U.S.-China contest. The host and guests discuss China’s satellite ground stations and tracking facilities in the region, and the concern that Beijing is expanding influence through commercial and military-linked space activity. The episode argues that launch infrastructure, data coverage, and standards-setting are becoming strategic assets, not just commercial ones.
Key takeaways
- The host says launch demand is rising toward 100,000 satellites by 2030, creating a backlog and a need for more launch sites.
- Ryan Brukardt says U.S. launch infrastructure is stretched, with some customers facing about a three-year wait to get a satellite into orbit.
- Burton Catledge says Launch on Demand’s Dominican Republic spaceport will have four pads and a first-phase investment of about $600 million.
- The guests argue that proximity to the equator and a coastal, low-population site improve launch efficiency and public safety.
- Kari Bingen says China’s growing presence in Latin America is part of a broader push for influence in space and in global standards.
Notable quotes
“the infrastructure in the U.S. is becoming a bit stretched, right? If you look at our launch sites, we're launching every day”
“-The goal for a rocket is to get to space in the most efficient and effective way possible”
“-We want to stay in line with U.S. foreign policy. And what do I mean by that”
“-So we estimate that by about the 10-year point after we hit full operations, we'll be generating about $8 billion”
How the episode opens
Westin: This is a story about making money 22,000 miles up, meeting a commercial need for tens of thousands of satellites to be launched by 2030. There is a race on to get all those satellites into orbit, but also a race with China, which has already built a range of satellite ground stations in Latin America, something that's gotten the attention of the U.S. government.
-So it's about 45 minutes on a helicopter flight. It's probably about four or five hours driving. Westin: In the western part of the Dominican Republic, on the border with Haiti, lies Pedernales, a quiet coastal province that will soon be home to the country's first spaceport and what is slated to be the first US-owned commercial spaceport in Latin America.
-If they were to identify this region as ideal for commercial space, it would be essentially the Strait of Hormuz for space. Westin: When we talk about the Strait of Hormuz, we think of all that oil and fertilizer and aluminum trying to get through a narrow sea channel. When it comes to space, it's satellites, and the choke point isn't a sea passage, but launch pads that we simply don't have enough of.
How many pads are you going to have here? -Four. Westin: Four pads here?
-Yeah. Westin: Burton Catledge is a former Air Force colonel who founded aerospace company Launch on Demand in 2018. -The amount of support that they came back with was amazing.
Westin: He's now developing a $600 million commercial spaceport in this remote part of the Dominican Republic. -The ecosystem at Cape Canaveral more or less has grown out of ad hoc. OK?
It was not necessarily built with the idea for the commercial space industry. The entire market has changed. Space industry is something on the order of, last time I checked, it was like $650 billion.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- satellite networks
- spaceports
- launch capacity demand
- latin america
- us-china geopolitical competition
Companies and tickers mentioned
- McKinsey
- CSIS
- Launch on Demand
Watch the episode
Watch “Why the US and China Need Latin America for Space” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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