A NASA Office of Inspector General report warns that the Kennedy Space Center is nearing capacity as private super‑heavy rockets ramp up activity. Only a few pads remain: SpaceX operates LC‑39A for Falcon launches and is building a Starship launch site, while Blue Origin uses LC‑36 at neighboring Cape Canaveral for New Glenn. Both firms plan dozens of launches per year, threatening the aging complex.

Fueling operations already strain the site. During Artemis I, nitrogen shortages delayed the SLS, and the report says the same bottleneck could force 1‑ to 2‑month blackouts when New Glenn and ULA’s Vulcan share pipelines. A new gaseous‑nitrogen system would cost $25 million, but NASA has no funding allocated. Starship is slated for an eight‑day launch cadence, 120 flights, matching Blue Origin’s New Glenn target by 2035.

Compounding the hardware shortfall, NASA’s construction and maintenance budgets have slipped 11‑47 % after inflation adjustments since 2021, while legal restrictions bar commercial cash for shared infrastructure. With launch demand projected to exceed the number of days in a year by 2028‑29, the aging Kennedy complex faces severe operational risk unless Congress funds decisive upgrades.