Secure U.S. Leadership in Space Act of 2025

This bill lets spaceports use the same kind of tax‑favored bonds that airports can use to build and improve facilities. It defines “spaceport” broadly to include places near launch or reentry sites that do things like build or fix spacecraft, run flight control, provide launch or reentry services, or move crews, passengers, or cargo to and from spacecraft . “Space cargo” includes satellites, science experiments, and other payloads, even if they don’t come back to Earth, and “spacecraft” means a launch or reentry vehicle . A spaceport does not have to be open to the general public to qualify, and related manufacturing areas and industrial parks can count, too .

The bill also makes it easier to finance spaceports. If a spaceport sits on federal land that is leased to a state or local government, it can still count as government‑owned for bond rules. Payments from the U.S. government to use a spaceport won’t turn these bonds into “federally guaranteed” bonds, which would normally block the tax break. And spaceport bonds can be excluded from a state’s usual cap if at least 95% of the money goes to build a qualifying spaceport. These changes apply to bonds issued after the bill becomes law .

• Who is affected:
  • State and local governments, spaceport developers, companies building or launching spacecraft, and users like satellite firms and research groups .
• What changes:
  • Spaceports are treated like airports for tax‑exempt facility bonds; leased federal land can still qualify; U.S. agency payments don’t block bond eligibility; certain spaceport bonds don’t count against the state cap; public access not required; manufacturing/industrial park areas allowed .
• When:
  • Applies to bonds issued after enactment .