World’s First Equatorial Commercial Spaceport: The Key to Rapid Growth in Commercial Space Operations

The space sector might be expected to be valued at $1 trillion by 2040, but it doesn’t mean the industry is on a fast track. According to Wanjiku Kanjumba, CEO and Chairwoman of Vicillion,

“Right now, it takes an average of 6-18 months to launch a commercially owned payload at a government-owned spaceport. And that doesn’t even include the whole topic of the growing space tourism sector.” That painstakingly slow turnaround time puts the space sector’s growth at risk over the next two decades.

Her global infrastructure development firm, Vicillion, is headquartered in the United States, with deep connections to the international aerospace sector. She founded the company in 2021 with co-founder and COO Ebenezer Ahama. Vicillion was recognized at the 2023 Aviation and Aerospace Awards as the “Most Collaborative Aerospace R&D Partner.”

The threat is a driving factor for Vicillion’s flagship project: The World’s First Equatorial Commercially Operated Spaceport Facility.

Building the First Commercially Operated Equatorial Spaceport

Dubbed the Omega Spaceport, the project creates a highly anticipated entry point into the space sector for commercially owned operations. The proposed facility will support geosynchronous and geostationary launches along the Equator and is expected to be operational in the next three years.  

Omega Spaceport will increase the safety, capacity, efficiency, and resiliency of commercial space operations. In addition to a fully equipped launch platform and associated facilities, the Omega Spaceport stands to become the catalyst for groundbreaking research and development within the aerospace sector. There are also planned opportunities for traditional investors to get involved with the commercial space market, including fuel supply, transportation, and shipping lines.

Launching a New Era of Commercial Space Operations

The carefully selected location for the Omega Spaceport’s footprint is a strategic and scientific edge for commercial launches, capable of servicing anyone worldwide. With its closest proximity to the Equator, launches will be propelled by the Earth’s rotational speed, meaning less fuel will be required for rocket insertion to the desired orbit, therefore, more room for payloads and more frequent launches. 

According to Kanjumba, launch and space travel regulations in the interested area are yet to be fully established. This offers her team a unique opportunity to help pave the way to grow the commercial space market to exponential heights.

Vicillion’s CEO already sees the opportunity to expand the facility past its planned commercial operations: “Space tourism, android mining, manned and unmanned missions to the Moon and Mars. The Omega Spaceport brings key access and resources to the commercial space sector now, but also the opportunity for continued growth in the future.”  

Kanjumba is an aerospace engineer and the first Kenyan-born Project PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut Candidate Program graduate. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degree at the most prestigious and largest aviation and aerospace-based university, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with a focus on aerospace engineering and spaceflight operations. 

Becoming a Recognized Leader and Visionary 

“Technology and research will continue to advance, but I think expanding commercial space operations is the type of innovation this sector needs,” explains Kanjumba. “The Omega Spaceport, funded by Vicillion’s Omega Fund, is how we will keep moving forward and propelling human ingenuity across the cosmos.”

And others share her sentiment. The company has already fostered essential relationships with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Space Force, just to name a few. Pending funding, construction on the spaceport is set to begin in the next two years.

Vicillion is currently open to engaging with interested investors, members of the engineering and construction industry, and space agencies from around the world that are eager to be part of this world’s first project and contribute to its development at this early stage.

To learn more about the Omega Spaceport and the Vicillion team, visit vicillion.com. To contact Vicillion directly, email info@vicillion.com.