Port Canaveral is the only place in the world where used rocket boosters are returning, but it could soon come with a cost for SpaceX.
- SpaceX could have to pay as much as $15,000 per booster return
- Port Canaveral leaders said wharfs generate revenue
- SpaceX, Port Canaveral leaders to negotiate the fees
After each SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into orbit, the first-stage booster — by design — lands on an autonomous drone ship positioned hundreds of miles off the Brevard County coast in the Atlantic Ocean.
A few days later, the ship returns to Port Canaveral with a large piece of space hardware upright on its deck. So far, SpaceX has brought back three first-stage boosters after successful barge landings.
Port leaders consider the reusable rockets to be cargo.
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The ship and booster come into the port like any other cargo ship, and port leaders said fees for using the wharfs is how the port generates revenue.
"Any product that comes across our dock, we are obligated to charge for," Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said. "That rate is often times negotiated."
Murray and his staff recently proposed charging SpaceX $15,000 each time the company brings a rocket booster back to port. That's $500 per ton for a 30-ton used booster. The price is based on other ports' fees for comparable weight in what Murray described as a unique situation.
"You can't just go out and say, 'Who's got a similar charge for used rockets?'" Murray said.
The price, however, is something SpaceX isn't too happy about.
"The proposed wharfage fee is 14 times higher than what any other business is being charged for using (Port Canaveral) facilities," said John Taylor, a spokesman for SpaceX. "Port Canaveral is an important partner in our recovery operations, but we expect fees to be fair and reflect our actual use of the port."
Port Canaveral commissioners took the item off the meeting agenda Wednesday, June 22. Murray said he is meeting with SpaceX representatives to find some common ground.
Cargo rates at Port Canaveral run between $28 and $35 per ton depending on vessel length. The next SpaceX launch from Brevard County — a cargo run to the International Space Station — is set for the early morning hours of July 18.