ABSTRACT
This chapter delves into the underpinnings of the spaceport ground-based infrastructure, focusing on its three main drivers: the launch vehicle (LV), its propulsion system, and to a lesser extent, the payload. In order to begin the discussion of spaceport infrastructure requirements, one must conceptually understand what constitutes these system elements. With respect to LVs and spacecraft, either can be expendable or reusable, in total or by component. There are two distinct areas of suborbital launch vehicles: sounding rockets and the emerging suborbital reusable vehicles (SRVs). Alternately, the new SRVs are being touted for transport of cargo or passengers and can travel outside the Earth’s atmosphere but do not reach orbit. The most common and enduring suborbital LVs are vertically launched sounding rockets and, as noted earlier, are utilized largely for atmospheric, microgravity, and astronomical research.
