Posted on July 28, 2010, at 5:19 pm .
As the United States struggles to rebuild a commercial launch sector that has been largely decimated by cheaper – and ITAR free – overseas competition, another low-cost spaceport is rising in its own backyard:
The headquarters of the Mexican Space Agency will be built in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo thanks to an investment of $120 million made public on Tuesday by Gov. Felix Gonzalez Canto.
The Space Center will be built in Chetumal, the state capital, on the border with Belize and Guatemala. At the site will be a launch pad, a runway, an underwater training unit and the space museum.
Continue reading ‘Look Out, Cape Canaveral! Here’s Comes Mexico’
Posted on June 7, 2010, at 5:37 pm .
John McCarthy of Florida Today has a detailed look at proposed upgrades for the Eastern Range, one of the key elements in NASA’s new commercial approach to spaceflight. The Cape has been steadily losing the launch business for decades due to high costs, bureaucracy and antiquated equipment.
President Barack Obama’s plan to spend nearly $2 billion — including $429 million in 2011 — transforming Kennedy Space Center and the adjacent Air Force station into a “21st Century Launch Complex” could lure more of those commercial payloads back to Florida’s spaceport. That might mean fewer jobs at remote tracking locations such as Ascension Island as older equipment is retired, but it would create new jobs locally to support the increased launches. Ideally, the region would also capture some of the pre-launch work, such as assembling the satellites, that is now done elsewhere.
Continue reading ‘Two Billion Upgrade Proposed for Cape Canaveral’
Posted on March 18, 2010, at 4:06 pm .
The Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed a measure today that unfreezes $10 million needed for the completion of a new commercial launch complex at Cape Canaveral.
Space Florida will use the fund for work on Launch Complex 36, which is being designed for use by commercial launch providers. The Legislature had appropriated $14.5 million for the work in 2008; however, it froze the funding last year after $4.5 million had been spent because Space Florida did not have a master plan.
Continue reading ‘Florida Legislature Moves to Unfreeze Funds for Commercial Launch Complex’
Posted on March 5, 2009, at 8:19 pm .
Space Florida President Steve Kohler has released a white paper explaining the complexities of performing commercial launch operations from Cape Canaveral’s Eastern Range.
However, over the last several years, as commercial launch business has moved overseas, many have asked me “Why aren’t commercial companies launching from the Cape?” There is this perception that it’s “just too hard to launch from the Cape.” In my opinion, that perception is not reality – there are two primary reasons why business has gone elsewhere – cost and launch dates assurance.
Continue reading ‘Space Florida’s Kohler Outlines Efforts to Make the Cape More Business Friendly’
Posted on January 29, 2009, at 6:18 pm .
There’s more controversy for Space Florida. On the heels of an investigation into an former employee who took a private job involving a state-funded program he helped to establish, now comes word that auditors believe that Space Florida does not have a coherent plan for refurbishing an old launch site at Cape Canaveral.
Continue reading ‘Watchdog: Stop Florida Launch Pad Development Until ROI Clear’
Posted on January 2, 2009, at 3:45 pm .
Pursue commercial opportunities in space
Op-Ed by Space Florida President Steve Kohler
Orlando Sentinel
With satellite-related consumer services on the rise — GPS navigation, satellite TV and radio — there will be increasing interest in launching new generations of satellites from locations like Florida. What may be less obvious are space-related applications for life sciences, biotech and pharmaceuticals.
Continue reading ‘Space Florida Chief Lays Out Plans for 2009 and Beyond as Shuttle Program Winds Down’
Posted on October 23, 2008, at 9:30 am .
Pad 36 holds hope for jobs
Florida Today
“Hours after being dedicated as a commercial launch site, Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station got its first potential customer.
“PlanetSpace, a consortium of ATK, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, announced Wednesday a proposal to launch a 158-foot solid-fuel rocket by 2011 from the pad at Cape Canaveral, which the Air Force has agreed to lease to Space Florida. The rocket could carry about 2 metric tons of cargo to the International Space Station.
“NASA aims to announce on Dec. 23 whether PlanetSpace, or a competitor, has been chosen to provide the service.”
Posted on August 9, 2008, at 12:54 pm .
Florida plans duty-free launches
Zone gives incentives to commercial rockets
Florida Today
“A launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is being licensed by the state of Florida as part of a larger plan to develop a duty-free trade zone to the International Space Station.
Working hand in hand with the Air Force, the state would rebuild Launch Complex 36 and make it available to multiple small- and medium-size rockets capable of carrying commercial payloads into low Earth orbit.”
Posted on July 17, 2008, at 11:42 pm .
NASA is talking with military officials about whether they could build a commercial launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The talks come after NASA’s original idea – putting it in the middle of a world-renowned national wildlife refuge – was roundly panned by the public.
Cape now gets look for new NASA launch complex
Florida Today
NASA still considering using wildlife refuge for private ventures
Orlando Sentinel
Posted on May 13, 2008, at 12:49 am .
Florida Today has a roundup of what the Florida Legislature has done during its current term to attract and keep aerospace companies. These measures include:
- $14.5 million to upgrade a launch complex for commercial flights;
- $1.25 million for space workforce retention and training programs;
- tax refunds for companies that retain workers; and,
- a measure limiting the liability of space tourism companies.
Ironically, the Legislature passed a budget that severely cuts funding for Space Florida, the organization that develops and promotes the state’s aerospace industry. Space Florida will receive $4 million this year, a reduction from its current $7 million budget. Gov. Charlie Crist had requested an increase to $8.5 million.
The cutback was apparently part of a general belt tightening effort in the midst of an economic downturn. A spokeswoman said Space Florida would cut back on trade shows and other promotional activities but does not anticipate any staff cutbacks.
Florida Today also reports that Space Florida is in negotiations with the U.S. Air Force over the use of Launch Complex 36, a deactivated Atlas rocket launch facility at the Cape Canaveral Air Station. The story does not indicate how the state would use the complex, but it could be related to efforts by Florida to lure Orbital Sciences Corporation to the state. The company is expected to make a decision soon on whether it will launch its new NASA-funded rocket from Virginia or Florida.
Posted on April 30, 2008, at 11:46 pm .
The Spaceports blog reports that Orbital Sciences Corporation is expected to make a decision this week on whether to fly its COTS rocket out of Virginia or Florida.
Both states have been heavily lobbying the Reston, Virginia-based company, which is developing commercial transportation to the International Space Station under the NASA program. The company will choose between the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island or Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Posted on March 1, 2008, at 8:13 pm .
The Daytona Beach News-Journal and Orlando Sentinel have have thrown their editorial weight behind citizens who are opposed to building a new commercial launch facility in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge at the Kennedy Space Center.
About 200 residents spoke out against the idea during a recent public hearing. The refuge site is one of several locations being considered. Residents suggested that the new facility be built on a nearby Air Force site that already hosts abandoned launch pads.
“Considering that some 1 million visitors a year trek into the refuge — birders, boaters, fishermen, hunters and hikers by the droves — one would think officials might have measured the potential economic blow to tourism and related loss of jobs from closing parts of the refuge against the 200 jobs and economic prospects of commercial space flight. NASA hasn’t. Interior Department and state officials should,” the Dayton editors wrote.
The Orlando Sentinel editors were a bit more blunt: “What part of the word ‘refuge’ doesn’t NASA understand?”
Meanwhile, Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas credits NASA for holding public hearings and doubts agency officials will build anything in the wildlife refuge. “If anything, it seems as if they are sabotaging the idea,” he wrote.
Posted on February 26, 2008, at 10:53 am .
An eclectic group of residents composed of birders, boaters, nudists and former NASA employees pleaded with the space agency not to build private launchpads near a world-renowned wildlife refuge, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“That you would even consider it boggles my mind,” Wes Biggs of Orlando told NASA representatives during a public hearing. “The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge isn’t just another refuge. It’s one of the jewels of the federal wildlife system, and it is known worldwide.”
NASA wants commercial companies to build new launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center. It is considering several possible locations. Residents urged agency officials to make use of an abandoned Air Force range for the project. However, agency officials said it would be difficult to obtain the land from the military.
Florida Today also has a story about the public hearing.
