For decades, the DR had been a neutral keep-to-are-own-affairs country in the middle of the Caribbean. No more. Under the Abinader administration, the Dominican Republic seems to be aligning itself as an active partner with US geopolitics and the booming space commercial industry.
Last year, the government authorized its Greater Santo Domingo airports for military operations. A recent report in Acento and another in El Informe con Alicia Ortega look into advances towards the installation of the first spaceport in the Caribbean at a time when the demand for satellite launches have doubled and US commercial space launches are booming. Burton Catledge, the CEO of the Florida-based Launch on Demand that is promoting the spacesport, explains the chosen location in Pedernales, nearer to the equator than Cape Canaveral in Florida, makes it more economical for both government and commercial launches of satellites.
A John Hopkins University report indicates that the global space economy has reached a record of US$613 billion and in just 10 years it is expected to reach US$1.8 trillion, spurred by advances in AI and computing. The Launch on Demand investment would be around US$600 million to US$800 million.
President Luis Abinader in his 27 of February 2026 state of the nation address said the Dominican Republic would be going forward with its support to the Florida-based private venture that would install a spacesport for satellite launching capabilities in Oviedo, Pedernales in the southwest of the Dominican Republic.
Acento reports the chosen site would be key to US national security interests. The installation would fall in line with the Trump Western Hemisphere National Security smart leadership policy that calls for investing in critical infrastructure assets in Latin America at a time when reportedly China is operating at least 11 spacesports of commercial-military use in five Latin American countries (Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile and Brazil) fitted with ground stations, radio telescopes and laser telemetry stations.
In May 2024, the director of the National Intelligence Agency (DNI) had signed an agreement with the same Launch on Demand (LOD Holdings). Catledge signed the agreement for Launch on Demand and Luis Soto for the DNI. The company was contracted to first conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing a commercial spaceport near the equator. The Dominican Republic is centrally located in the Caribbean. The announcement by President Luis Abinader during his 27 of February state of the nation address means the study confirmed the feasibility. President Abinader said in his speech he had signed on for the firm to develop the project.
Launch on Demand does not show previous spacesport installations on its website. Nevertheless, the background of its CEO Burton Catledge reveals he has been in different roles as a customer, regulator, or external service provider for SpaceX, the company that has launched the most satellites.
Catledge’s Launch on Demand provides technical and consulting services to spaceports. In this capacity, he works within the same commercial space ecosystem as SpaceX but remains an independent executive.
Catledge is a former colonel in the US Air Force who served as the commander of the 2nd Range Operations Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base. In this role, he was responsible for supporting and overseeing launches from the Western Range, which included those conducted by SpaceX. Catledge was also the commander of the 45th Operations Group at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. He oversaw the Eastern Range’s military, commercial, NASA, and ballistic missile launch operations from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center to Ascension Island, South Atlantic.
Catledge has publicly praised SpaceX’s technical achievements, specifically noting that Elon Musk’s “biggest contribution” to the industry was the development of autonomous flight safety systems, which allowed SpaceX to achieve its high launch cadence.
Launch on Demand describes itself as a full-service licensing support, launch integration management, cost-effective digital day-of-launch solutions, and spaceport technical services.
N Digital shares concerns about the operation of Launch on Demand and the lack of legal framework for this type of venture here. N Digital shares the opinion of a lawyer who says the country should first prepare a legal framework before engaging an international partner. Burton Catledge proposes the Dominican government adopt the US legislation framework.
Sigmund Freund of the Ministry of Public Administration has said that no public funds will be used for the proposed Pedernales spaceport. The Dominican government is investing in the Cabo Rojo International Airport under construction in Pedernales. Pedernales already has a dock for cruise ships and has expanded the Barahona Port in the same southwest.
N Digital explains that what could be in the works is for the satellite launching operation to operate from a tax-exempt free zone or the tax-exempt regime already in place for border provinces. The government has already signed for the sale “at market prices” of two million square meters of land and would be issuing permits and facilitating its airspace for the operation as Launch on Demand (LOD Holdings) advances the deal with the government.
Nevertheless, the media is questioning the possible negative impacts of launching spaceships from Dominican soil. N Digital reports that similar projects have not worked yet in Puerto Rico, Brazil and Peru. In Puerto Rico, the project was aborted for environmental and land use objections.
Local media has been researching what this means for the DR and the whys behind it. Catledge, in an earlier interview with Spacenews, had explained the interest for the DR would be the enable the Dominican Republic to improve critical satellite monitoring and surveillance capabilities to address illegal migration, drug trafficking and even environmental damage.
Alicia Ortega interviewed Catledge for her Monday, 1 March 2026 report and shared objections by environmentalist Yolanda Leon who said the installation would require changes to the National Parks law. This would be a case of switching bird watching for space watching. The venture would impact the rich bird life diversity of the Oviedo municipality. There is the lure of new jobs to be created and how space launching could become a tourist attraction as is the case of Cape Cañaveral in Florida.
Read more:
DR1 News
Acento
Linkedin Launch on Demand
Launch on Demand
N Digital
N Digital
N Digital
Listin Diario
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Acento
Alicia Ortega 2 March 2026
4 March 2026