This should be a golden era of launch.

Over the past three years, an average of 270 orbital rockets have launched from Earth, marking a more than threefold increase since just a decade ago. By every metric available, the launch industry is thriving: prices are competitive, launches are frequent, and access to space is rapid.

Paradoxically, despite this abundance of launches, there’s now a growing crunch in launch availability. Caleb Henry, director of research at Quilty Space, reports hearing from satellite operators about an “industry in panic.”

A Canadian company, Telesat, received inquiries for sharing launch slots, only to have its response declined. The Amazon LEO constellation has had to slow down production due to a surplus of scheduled launches that aren’t ready yet. During an earnings call, officials from AST SpaceMobile highlighted that launch availability is now the pacing item for their satellite deployment.

With thousands of new satellites needed in the coming years, the industry is shifting focus from how many launch companies can support the market to who can execute the fastest to meet these surging needs. If things are bad now, they may get even worse over the next two to four years.