Podcast - Lift Off! Navigating The Growth Of The Commercial Space Industry

In this episode of our "Florida Capital Conversations" podcast series, Tallahassee transportation and regulatory compliance attorney Katie Inman discusses the rapid growth of Florida's commercial space industry and what it means for stakeholders. Drawing on her senior experience at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and as former general counsel to Florida's Attorney General, Ms. Inman talks about the surge in FAA-licensed launches and breaks down how private investment and new laws are accelerating the sector. She highlights major federal developments – including the executive order to streamline launch licensing and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, bond financing incentives for spaceport infrastructure and Space Command/Space Force initiatives – as well as Florida's 2025 legislation establishing the International Aerospace Innovation Fund and expanding seaport-spaceport infrastructure support. She additionally explains Space Florida's unique role as an economic development entity, reviews anticipated timelines for infrastructure versus research funding and shares practical steps for companies to engage in this rapidly growing field.

This Tallahassee-based podcast series takes a look at the many different aspects of state and local government through the lens of experienced legal professionals. Hosted by attorneys Nathan Adams and Mia McKown, these candid conversations offer a seat at the table to everyone who listens.

Listen to more episodes of Florida Capital Conversations here.

Podcast Transcript

Nathan Adams: Welcome to Holland & Knight's Florida Capital Conversations podcast series. Today, our subject is the commercial space industry, and our guest is Katie Inman. My name is Nathan Adams, my co-host is Mia McKown. We are so pleased that you have joined us today to consider another interesting issue bearing on state government affecting Florida business and communities. And there's none better than Katie Inman to kick off our discussion about the commercial space industry in Florida.

Mia McKown: Hi Katie, this is Mia. We're so glad to have you with us today. Before we get into this topic, could you tell us a little bit about yourself so our listeners can have a better understanding of who you are and what you do, and especially as it relates to the commercial space industry?

Katie Inman: Thanks so much, Mia. Sure, I'm very pleased to be here. Thank you for having me. My name is Katie Inman. I'm a partner at Holland & Knight working in aviation law and in public policy and regulation, and then also some transportation and infrastructure questions, especially as they occur here in Florida. My background includes serving for a little more than three years as general counsel for the attorney general of Florida. I worked directly with Attorney General Ashley Moody here, she's now Senator Moody. And prior to that, I served for over six years at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a senior role. I was a supervisory regulatory attorney, but I held a number of different positions throughout the chief counsel's office, and it was just great fun. I loved it. Helping develop policy and answer really complex questions about statutory interpretation and just regulatory frameworks. Prior to that, I served for more than 11 years at the National Transportation Safety Board, handling aviation enforcement adjudication appeals, and as well as a number of other matters, especially involving rulemaking and just the investigative process that the NTSB undertakes, focusing on aviation mainly. So with that in mind, I have just a real proclivity for wanting to talk about commercial space, and it's exciting at the moment.

Nathan Adams: Katie, we're fortunate to have you here at Holland & Knight. We're excited to have you and be able to talk about this subject today. Tell me in broad terms, what are the key takeaways we have seen in the past year regarding the commercial space industry?

Katie Inman: Oh, sure. Well, broadly speaking, the industry has just really taken off both nationally and here in Florida. We've seen a remarkable increase in the pace of launches. We know this because the Federal Aviation Administration publishes monthly updates on the growing count of the number of launches conducted using a launch vehicle for which the FAA has issued a license. And on August 14, the FAA marked the thousandth operation of such a vehicle, which the agency has been licensing for the last 35 years. According to the FAA's commercial space data, in calendar year 2025 so far, 125 licensed launches and seven licensed reentries have occurred. And Florida is by far the state where the most launches have occurred, followed by California. For all of calendar year 2024, we had 157 licensed launches, which is approximately 60 percent of all launches worldwide. And prior to that, in 2023, we had 117 licensed launches. So as you can see, we saw a big increase in 2024, and given the numbers so far in 2025, we're likely to see even more launches this year than in any prior year. So companies in this industry serve a mixture of U.S. government and commercial customers. We've also seen the industry grow considerably just here in Florida. Space Florida, which is the governmental entity that is involved in space industry developments, issues an annual report every year. And it provides metrics that easily show that the space industry is growing just exponentially here in Florida. Its report from this past year of 2024 says that the state had a record-breaking 90 launches, transporting over 1,300 payloads that totaled over 2.6 million pounds. The report stated that Florida at the time had 187 projects valued at $6.8 billion that are ongoing or soon to be achieved, and that's a 24 percent increase from the previous year.

So you can see the growth on both fronts, nationally and in Florida. And the reasons for it, I would say that this growth is probably due to just increased activity in private investment and just growth in the private sector in this area. Historically, space launches and exploration opportunities were just government-led. The industry really emerged in the '90s, but space launches were only kind of a means to launch commercial satellites or transport cargo to the International Space Station. And this meant that governments set the objectives and the goals and the strategies and that public funding rather than private funding was responsible for the achievement of these projects. Very low level of commercial investment that we saw and very little competition, and that just led to a slow pace of launches. But since the '90s, and as a result of enactment and implementation of a few statutes over time, the U.S. has begun to see rapid growth in the commercial space industry. We've seen a higher volume of commercial investment rather than government funding. We've seen privatization of infrastructure and more affordable technology with higher profit margins as a result. And Florida's position, both in terms of geography and resources combined with the state statutory and regulatory framework and appropriations, of course, regarding infrastructure, means that the state has been able to accommodate this rapid growth. So exciting times are surely ahead as the industry continues to expand.

Mia McKown: Katie, all I can think about is you know when you're talking about that it's been more privatized is the bachelorette party that Jeff Bezos' wife had when she and her friends went to outer space with Katy Perry. So we are seeing a lot more of that lately, but in addition we've seen headlines on a more serious note about action in Congress and the White House concerning the space industry. What federal updates have you seen in the past year that will affect the commercial space industry?

Katie Inman: Oh, sure, well, you're right. We have seen a lot of headlines. On August 13 of this past year, the president signed an executive order called "Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry." And its goal was to increase the cadence of commercial space launches and novel space activities by 2030 through a series of actions designed to simplify approvals of licenses and permits. The order directs the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, who is Sean Duffy, to consult with the Council on Environmental Quality, also known as CEQ, to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews and other sources of delay. The executive order also directs Secretary Duffy to evaluate and either amend or rescind 14 CFR Part 450. And everyone in the space world kind of knows that as the broad suite of regulations that apply to licensing of commercial space launch and reentry and space vehicle operations and payload reviews.

We've heard about the president's goal of deregulating, and this direction in his executive order is very much consistent with that goal. The executive order also directs the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with Secretary Duffy and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the NASA administrator — who's currently Secretary Duffy — to determine whether states are inhibiting spaceport development. These agencies have to evaluate states and notify the Department of Justice of any state or local limitations on spaceport development that are inconsistent with federal law. The order directs the Departments of Defense, Interior, Transportation and NASA to expedite environmental and administrative review processes. And the CEQ chair has to establish a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for spaceport development. This is very meaningful in my opinion. Because when a proposed operational activity is excluded from environmental review under the NEPA, the process for approval can move along much more expeditiously. The categorical exclusion means that the requirement for a comprehensive environmental impact statement or a formal environmental assessment would not apply.

And shifting from executive to legislative, I need to mention the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax exemption. Senator Moody — my former boss of Florida — proposed the quote, Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act of 2025, which was S.1560, and that became part of the federal budget signed into law on July 4, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The provision amended the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax exemption for the interest earned on bonds that are used to finance spaceport development. They accomplished this by treating spaceports as though they're airports for purposes of exempt facility bond rules. So we're going to cover this on a future podcast episode, probably, because we're very excited about this new provision and a number of questions have arisen about it. We have tax experts and public private partnership experts here at the firm with decades of experience. But for now, suffice it to say that the space industry expects spaceport infrastructure development to grow considerably in the months ahead. And in the meantime, just note here that there's really no better place to have your questions answered on this than our firm here. The federal updates that I mentioned are significant. We monitor rulemaking updates, such as the one the president directed regarding Part 450, and we expect an easier, more efficient issuances of launch and reentry licenses to occur based on this executive order.

Nathan Adams: What other federal updates have occurred?

Katie Inman: Well, there are many other updates that are relevant, even if kind of in a tangential way to commercial space, and those are ongoing. And some of the updates will affect Florida directly. For example, the headquarters for NASA might move to Brevard County. The Florida delegation in the Senate and House supports a bill called Consolidating Airspace Programs Efficiently at Canaveral. And it's an acronym that spells CAPE Canaveral Act. Florida leaders say that the measure is going to result in savings of taxpayer dollars and encourage collaboration between government and private space companies and just overall will bring stakeholders together. Senator Moody had proposed that bill in mid-March of 2025, and as of the time of this recording, it's in the Senate Commerce Committee and it's S.1013. Another thing that Senator Moody did was introduce the Space Ready Act, which would authorize the administrator of NASA to conduct a pilot program for investment of infrastructure projects at the Kennedy Space Center. The bill would establish a quote "infrastructure investment fund," and that would consist of public and private investments for use by the NASA administrator to conduct capital repairs and maintenance and improvements to NASA-owned infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center. Whatever the administrator considers is necessary to support activities under the agreements that NASA has already authorized to enter into is really the name of the game there. The legislation would sunset in 2035, and the bill was recently read twice and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, and that one is S.2622.

And we've also seen updates with regard to regulations that are relevant to all space operations, not just items in Florida. The hazardous materials regulations are actually very relevant for space launches. And the federal government closely monitors compliance with these hazardous materials regulations under its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, also called PHMSA for short. And what they did was federal government and its unified regulatory agenda, which just recently came out, stated that PHMSA plans to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking around April of 2026 to seek comments on modernizing regulations to facilitate transportation of spacecraft and space-related hazardous materials. So that's a notable development. And in revising the hazardous materials regulations, PHMSA says that it's going to coordinate closely with the Department of Defense and NASA, as well as its modal partners, to ensure just seamless movement of goods across multiple modes of transportation.

Mia McKown: Katie, that's a good follow-up. I mean, one thing that sounds amazing is it seems like Florida, with Senator Moody, is right on the cutting edge with all this legislation and hopefully will benefit the state of Florida. But with regards to national defense, are there federal actions occurring that will affect opportunities with space [with] regards to national defense? And in particular, do you think that will have any impact in Florida?

Katie Inman: Yes, absolutely. And we have seen recent federal actions regarding both Space Command and Space Force. And I should note here at the beginning that these two entities are distinct from each other. Under 10 USC 161, there's a definition of unified combatant command, and that means a military command that has broad continuing missions and is composed of forces from two or more military departments. Space Command is such a unified combatant command, and it plans and executes and integrates military space power in a multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression, defend national interests and, when necessary, defeat threats. And it's one of 11 unified combatant commands within the Department of Defense, and it's responsible for U.S. military operations in space and it conducts space operations, sensor management, satellite communications, and management and transregional missile defense. So you might have seen a headline from earlier this month where the president announced that the Space Command would move to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Space ports and other types of infrastructure are likely going to expand to meet the growing needs that will result from this Space Command move. And a recent congressional research report determined that space launch capabilities, which commercial partners typically provide at federal space ranges, are critical to Space Command's ability to augment, reconstitute and replenish military satellites. So recent proposed legislation that we are currently watching right now in the National Defense Authorization Act would require reports to Congress about federal launch capacity. The proposed requirement to submit reports indicate it's kind of a signal that Congress is probably going to want to expand federal launch facilities to meet potential defense and commercial space launch demands, mainly in Florida. Keeping an eye on the funding of this kind of expansion is a good idea because it usually signals Congress' overall goals.

And in contrast, the Space Force, which is separate from Space Command, is a sixth branch of the Armed Forces, and we've seen some Space Force updates as well. The Space Force is responsible for leading military space operations and protecting U.S. interests in space. It defends communication satellites and tracks debris, supports launches and just provides space-based capabilities for other forces. It's under the Department of Air Force, and it's overall responsible for deterring aggression or anything involving space. Congress allocated $1.3 billion from fiscal years 2024 until 2028 for the quote, "Spaceport of the Future Program," which is funding for spaceport upgrades in the United States Space Force. And [in] the current version of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress would require the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study to assess the operational capacity and infrastructure and long-term sustainability of heavy and super-heavy launch sites at Cape Canaveral and at Vandenberg, along with a comparative analysis of alternate locations, including sites at federal lands, private land partnerships and locations outside the continental United States. These measures indicate that Congress is concerned about having infrastructure for Space Force that is resilient and provides flexibility.

And just recently, Space Force also announced that its Space Operations Command would be getting a new name. They're going to call it Combat Forces Command. And some say that this name change is a signal that Space Force is showing a serious commitment to ensuring its war fighting readiness in the space domain, which many are viewing as increasingly congested just due to the growth of interest in space. This means that the U.S. government will be more focused than ever on ensuring space assets are able to provide rapid responses and might be combat focused. So in essence, space security is a big topic and appears to be a current priority of this administration.

Nathan Adams: Well, I feel like I should be asking you whether the force is with you as well, but setting that aside. Space Florida is an entity that maybe not a lot of Floridians have heard about, tell us a little bit about that.

Katie Inman: Oh, sure, and it's very important, and it's very unique. Space Florida is Florida's entity that's responsible for Florida's aerospace economic development. It promotes the expansion of aerospace industry in Florida in a number of ways. It invests in infrastructure research and education and provides investment programs. The Florida Legislature established Space Florida in 2006. And the statute that enacted it allowed for a creative financing option and for infrastructure access and it enables aerospace ventures to launch easily, that's their overall goal. It's governed by an independent board of directors which includes the governor and the secretary of Florida's Department of Transportation and seven appointed members. And also one representative each from the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority and an employee or official of a port district or port authority. But interestingly, of the members whom the governor and the speaker of the house and the president of the Senate appoint, those members must either reflect the state's interest in the aerospace sector and represent the intent, duties and purpose of Space Florida or have at least five years' experience in either the aerospace industry, bond financing, academic experience in aerospace, aviation or a relevant science, or experience as an aircraft facilities manager, fixed base operator or commercial airport operator. So the legislature was pretty specific here when it set up the governing body. And I note that the criteria is interesting in light of the recent bond financing tax exemption that I mentioned earlier, which is in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The organization has grown a lot since it was established in 2006. It seems almost every legislative session brings new duties or expanded authority for the governmental entity. It works with commercial space companies, other governmental agencies and academic bodies to develop space-related infrastructure or conduct research. And I note that, you know, what I said about its overall responsibility for aerospace economic development. This mission is pretty broad because elsewhere in the authorizing statute, aerospace is defined broadly. It includes pretty much anything regarding aviation and spacecraft and aviation technologies, whether they're air-based, land-based, space-based or sea-based platforms for commercial, civil or defense purposes. So Space Florida has a pretty broad mandate.

The companies or organizations that might work with Space Florida would also, you know, it would behoove them to be aware of not only this broad authority and responsibility, but also the legal status of the entity and its statutory framework. Space Florida statute says that it's in an independent special district, which is a body politic and corporate and a subdivision of the state. It's responsible for promoting aerospace business development by facilitating business financing, space port operations, research and development, workforce development and innovative education programs. And in carrying out its duties and responsibilities, Space Florida advises and coordinates and, when necessary, enters into agreements with other government entities like municipalities, counties, regional authorities, state agencies, organizations and even appropriate federal agencies and organizations and other interested persons and groups. So the organization is not an agency of the state. Instead, it's an independent special district that may receive funding from the state. It's got broad authority to lend money, invest and reinvest funds, take and hold real property for many different purposes. Lease facilities, either as the lessor or lessee. It can even establish conservation areas under certain circumstances and pursuant to certain procedures that are elsewhere in Florida statutes. So with regard to property that is not real estate, Space Florida can own, acquire, construct, equip, improve all sorts of types of infrastructure. The organization has express authority to issue revenue bonds, and it's subject to the bond issuance statute that applies to special districts in Florida. Overall, Space Florida is unique in that it has broad authority, especially when it comes to property and infrastructure. And aside from that authority regarding funding and improvement, it also coordinates with the Federal Aviation Administration when it needs the FAA to activate special use airspace and supportive launch operations in Florida.

So with that framework in mind, Space Florida is and will continue to be involved in the growth of the industry in Florida. Space in Florida is going to continue to grow. Space Florida has big plans for the coming years and in several areas. Its most recent annual report states that by 2035, Space Florida aims to reach anywhere in Florida by providing service between Florida and all orbital and interplanetary destinations, as well as direct access to all transit-capable space ports worldwide. They're also going to lead international trade in space, expand the reach of in-space operations and grow infrastructure capacity. In particular, they say that they want to ensure infrastructure is available that supports the industry's ability to transport 5,000 metric tons of cargo to space annually from Florida. This would equate to approximately, they say 219 Falcon 9, 111 New Glenn, 194 Vulcan or 40 Starship launches each year.

Mia McKown: Katie, there is so much going on. I find it hard to believe that the Florida representatives and senators are not filing all kinds of bills addressing this topic. I know you've talked a lot about different federal and touched on some of the state laws that are happening, but are there any updates from the Florida 2025 legislative session that are relevant to the space industry?

Katie Inman: Yes, very much. In fact, there were two main ones. And this happened when the Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis were just very active in 2025. When the governor was at the Paris Air Show in June, he signed two bills that contained provisions regarding the commercial space industry. And those statutes took effect July 1. I wrote about these developments, in fact, in the Holland & Knight client alert, and it's on our blog. The two bills I mentioned in that alert are SB 1516 called the Aerospace Industry and SB 1662 called Transportation. The first one established an International Aerospace Innovation Fund, which is going to provide grants that Space Florida will disseminate. The legislation directs the fund to support the development of partnerships among Florida-based aerospace companies and international aerospace companies, innovation in critical technology areas related to aerospace, such as space exploration, advanced manufacturing and space infrastructure, and investment on a global scale in Florida's aerospace ecosystem. The bill designates Space Florida as the entity that's responsible for overseeing the fund, and it sets forth eligibility criteria for projects. And under this criteria, each proposed project must first include at least one aerospace company or organization based in Florida. Second, it has to consist of a partnership that includes at least one of the following: an international aerospace company, a university, a space agency or a research institute. And lastly, it had to have the purpose of or potential for commercialization. SB 1516 grants authority to Space Florida to develop additional eligibility criteria, and it directs them to award funding based on merit and upon reviewing competitive bids. To review these applications, Space Florida is going to designate an aerospace panel and they're going to evaluate the proposed projects. Sources of the funding might consist of direct appropriations from the Florida Legislature to Space Florida for purposes of the fund, investment by the Florida Opportunity Fund or other investments, loans and grant funding. Private sector investments that would match funds from Space Florida might also be a source of funding, as would international contributions, and to the extent permitted by state law as long as the funding furthers collaboration with a foreign industry development organization or innovation authorities to co-fund eligible projects. So as a point of reference, it's worthwhile to note that Space Florida's 2024 annual operations report shows that it had 161 projects in development with an estimated value of $5.6 billion in capital investment. And the report further showed that Space Florida provided $101.9 million in funding for 30 research projects, partnerships or grants. So given the effect of SB 1516, the 2025 annual operations report and future reports will likely contain larger figures. In addition to the funding provisions, legislation also authorizes Space Florida to identify and establish partnerships with countries that have robust aerospace sectors. It provides a comprehensive authority to Space Florida to enter into bilateral agreements to implement this legislation. And such agreements might include, but are not limited to, the establishment of co-funding commitments, intellectual property rights and collaboration terms. Enabling this type of collaboration demonstrates that the legislature is really motivated to ensure that Florida remains well-known for aerospace research.

And as for SB 1662, which is the transportation bill, this was a comprehensive bill that addressed many modes and many aspects of transportation in Florida, but it had some space pieces buried in it. The bill provided funding for spaceport or space industry activities under the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Program, which is better known as FSTED. In essence, that program will now provide funding for space port or space industry-related planning or construction of facilities on seaport property that are necessary or useful for advancing the space industry in the state and provide an economic benefit to Florida. That program, the FSTED Program, was originally established in 1990, and it's long provided funding for specific types of port facilities or port transportation projects. It provides $25 million annually in grants, in addition to $35 million that FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) allocates on an annual basis. Local ports that participate in the program match the state funding and the amount they receive, usually on a 50-50 basis. And the FSTED Council is required to prepare a five-year Florida Seaport Mission Plan concerning the development of port facilities. This is relevant to space in our topic of note here because the 2025-2029 Seaport Mission Plan, which addresses each port in Florida, actually identified Port Canaveral as a vital link that is critical for space launch operations and says that the port's five-year, $560 million capital improvement plan is focused on infrastructure improvements to meet the needs of the area and promote economic prosperity.

SB 1662 also established an important restriction on the use of funding for seaports designed to ensure that the land designated for the space industry activities will not be used for other purposes. By amending the statute that established the state's strategic port investment initiative, the legislation now prohibits any project grant funding under any program established in Chapter 311 that is first [a] seaport located in a county in which real property is designated as a spaceport territory from being used for activities that don't support spacecraft launch and recovery operations. So under that amendment, funding is now contingent on the seaport as the grant recipient, agreeing with FDOT that it will not convert any planned or existing land, facility or infrastructure that supports cargo purposes to any alternative purpose. This restriction is consistent with Space Florida's 2024 Annual Operations Report, which identifies Port Canaveral as being in need of expansion. The report stated that maritime operations are critical for recovery and movement of spaceflight hardware, as such space launch operations must be able to rely on consistent availability of operations and development of the infrastructure that's necessary for them. And the report summarizes the Florida Spaceport System Maritime Intermodal Transportation Study, which analyzed input from engineers and stakeholders to assess maritime support options for Florida spaceport operations. The study ultimately concluded that the expansion of the wharf at Port Canaveral would be necessary for Florida to meet the growing demands of the space transportation and solidify its position as a global hub for aerospace commerce, because Port Canaveral is the only location in the world where a spaceport and a seaport are co-located. The report says that the current facilities at Port Canaveral are insufficient to meet projected space industry demand and that 9,000 linear feet of dedicated wharf space is necessary. A review of proposed designs for immediate use of existing infrastructure or maybe significant expansions for long-term capacity at Port Canaveral is probably already underway. So we're seeing a lot of growth.

Nathan Adams: Well, there's a lot of meaty subject matter there about the growth in the space industry. I guess if you're a player in this space, is there anything else that our listeners should know about concerning the growth of that industry in Florida?

Katie Inman: Oh, well, thank you. I mean, there is a lot to cover. You're absolutely right. And it's exciting. And so I guess I would just say that as far as what stakeholders should do now and in the future to have a role of growth in the industry, you know, I would probably categorize it in two main buckets: Infrastructure improvement is very much coming, and research innovation is really picking up steam here too. Based on President Trump's August 13 executive order, deregulation and efficiency is what we're going to see when it comes to enabling commercial launches to occur. And these principles of deregulation really cover both categories of infrastructure improvement and research and innovation.

So stakeholders might ask, how can they be involved with infrastructure improvement or research and innovation opportunities? And I would say the first thing to do is to just be sure that you educate yourself and monitor developments in this really fast-moving area. Monitoring involves keeping track of rulemaking projects, committee meetings and procurement updates. And on this note, regulatory agendas for both state and federal rulemaking updates will be publicly available. And while they might not provide a whole lot of detail, those regulatory agendas are worth a look, and it would be wise to see what updates they include. In addition to rulemaking updates, you can monitor procurement activities, both at the federal and state level. The next step would be taking part in upcoming development. Might be to make plans and correspond with other stakeholders or partners. As with several other budding industries, we're seeing a fair amount of collaboration right now among stakeholders and partnerships with academic institutions or government entities. And being open to these types of partnerships and collaboration is probably a wise mindset to have. And then another key step would be to analyze the statutory framework that applies to the stakeholder's goals. Infrastructure improvements, a number of federal, state and local provisions might apply. And then with regard to research and innovation, funding opportunities at federal or state levels might apply, and maybe regulatory authorizations or licenses would be available. Attorneys here at the firm have expertise in all these areas.

Mia McKown: Katie, it seems like the growth of this industry is going quickly. Do you think it's going to grow quickly in Florida? And if so, what timeline do you anticipate for projects that the legislature or even Congress have envisioned to happen in Florida?

Katie Inman: You're right, it is growing very quickly. But I think that the different categories I mentioned are going to grow at a different pace. When you view it all together, I really think that Florida spaceport development and infrastructure growth and infrastructure improvement, I think that's going to happen quickly. We've seen some enthusiasm lately for spaceport infrastructure just all the way around, especially in light of Senator Moody's provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. And we also know that the White House and Secretary Duffy are focused on ensuring United States supremacy when it comes to space, both in terms of commercial operations and defense. So this rapid development that we'll soon see with spaceport infrastructure will coincide with those federal provisions in the August 13 executive order. As for funding for research, I think the funding from the grants that I discussed in SB 1516 might occur at a little bit of a more deliberate pace. That bill requires a competitive grant process, and it's based on criteria that might not yet be developed or might be forthcoming soon. So given the applicability of certain requirements in Florida statutes about transparency in grants and funding and potential need for open meetings or rulemaking or procurement activities, the availability of the funding and actually getting it into folks' hands for research might occur in a manner that's a little bit more measured than the infrastructure growth.

Nathan Adams: So do you have any recommendations for stakeholders who are interested in getting involved in the growth of the industry?

Katie Inman: Yes, certainly. Well, I think, as I said earlier, the industry could be broadly categorized in infrastructure improvements and then in research and innovation. And I think they'd be wise to, you know, just get involved by first educating themselves, keeping tabs on what's going on as far as regulatory agendas procurement activities. And then being willing to collaborate with one another at research institutions and government entities, academia, just being open to different types of partnerships and thinking really of consortium agreements and different types of mechanisms to avail themselves of all the other ideas that other folks have, I think would really be worthwhile. Analyzing the statutory framework, I think, is really a key piece of that. And being sure that you're doing the right thing when it comes to an agreement and a partnership is certainly critical, especially even from the beginning. So those would be my recommendations about how stakeholders can get involved and do it in a smart way.

Mia McKown: Well, with all these opportunities to become involved, how can Holland & Knight help stakeholders who seek to benefit from the provisions that we've talked about today? And more importantly, how you can help them, Katie?

Katie Inman: Thank you. Yes. Well, like I said, the takeaways are really spaceport infrastructure, which is a very hot topic, both in Florida legislation and in the One Big Beautiful Bill act as well as the White House executive order. And then the studies by Congress and then innovation and deregulation from a federal standpoint coincide nicely with space research here in Florida. So with those different takeaways in mind, I would say, you know, we've got just an excellent team here at the firm. We've got attorneys who have decades and decades of experience in public-private partnerships and tax incentives and bond financing, to those like myself who have dozens of years of experience in aviation law, to those who are experts in Florida-specific provisions. We've really got it all here, and our attorneys are really second to none on this. We're well positioned here in Florida to assist clients with interests in the space industry. And I should also mention that our firm has great relationships with key personnel just all over. Especially in government, we've got connections, federal, state and local levels, and we can have meaningful conversations that would benefit our clients.

Nathan Adams: All right, well thanks to Katie Inman for her informative and interesting comments on the commercial space industry in Florida. And thanks to my co-host Mia McKown. Most of all, thanks to you for joining us today. Please plan to join us for our next Florida Capital Conversations podcast. Have a great day.

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