Posted on December 26, 2012, at 8:44 am .
Stratolaunch vehicle. (Credit: Stratolaunch)
Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems is eying the Kennedy Space Center as its base of operations, beginning with a demonstration flight of the air-launch system from the former Shuttle Landing Facility in 2017, CEO Gary Wentz tells Florida Today:
Stratolaunch, which was publicly introduced in December 2011, hopes to provide lower-cost launches by freeing itself from ground-based range infrastructure and weather restrictions and enabling quicker flight turnarounds.
Continue reading ‘Stratolaunch Eyes Operations From Kennedy Space Center’
Posted on September 24, 2012, at 8:02 am .
The Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. (Credit: NASA)
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
The state of Florida is looking to not only build a new commercial launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) but also to manage and develop the center’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) as an airport/spaceport.
In a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood, Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll requested the conveyance 150 acres of unused land at the north end of KSC near the former citrus community of Shiloh for the new launch complex. She also asked NASA to transfer the SLF to Florida.
Continue reading ‘Florida Seeks to Run Shuttle Landing Facility, Build Commercial Launch Complex’
Posted on September 24, 2012, at 5:30 am .
XCOR’s Lynx suborbital vehicle
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Various Florida agencies put up more than $5.7 million in “incentive value and financing” to help lure XCOR to set up a production facility and operational base for its Lynx space plane in the Sunshine State, according to the head of the state’s space development organization.
The funding and incentives are being put up by Space Florida, Brevard Workforce, Enterprise Florida Inc., and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, according to a presentation by Space Florida President Frank DiBello during the announcement of the deal last month.
Continue reading ‘Closer Look: XCOR’s Florida Deal Worth More than $5.7 Million’
Posted on August 23, 2012, at 7:43 am .
Kennedy Space Center, FL and Mojave, CA, August 23, 2012 (XCOR PR) – Today, XCOR Aerospace announced its intent to establish an East Coast U.S. operational base in Florida and as market demand dictates, establish a manufacturing and assembly center for XCOR Lynx Mark II suborbital reusable launch vehicles as well.
Continue reading ‘XCOR to Establish Operational Base, Manufacturing Facility on Florida Space Coast’
Posted on May 2, 2012, at 5:30 pm .
SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION ANNOUNCES FLORIDA INTEREST
Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll to Recognize Near-Term Employment Potential
WHAT:
Announcement of interest in establishing a variety of capabilities in Florida by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems, a Colorado-based designer and manufacturer of advanced spacecraft, space vehicles and spacecraft subsystems for commercial and government customers.
Sierra Nevada Corporation is developing a commercial orbital crew vehicle to transport astronauts and critical cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Program. The Dream Chaser® Space System was awarded two funded Space Act Agreements from NASA as part of this program in 2009 and 2011.
Sierra Nevada Corporation and State of Florida officials will discuss the potential for expanded space operations in Florida and next steps.
WHO:
The Honorable Jennifer Carroll, Lt. Governor of Florida
Frank DiBello, President & CEO, Space Florida
Robert Cabana, Kennedy Space Center Director
Lynda Weatherman, President & CEO, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast
Mark Sirangelo, Corporate Vice President of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems
WHEN:
Friday, May 4, 2012
11:30 – 12:30 p.m. (Program)
12:45 – 1:00 p.m. (Media Interview Opportunities)
WHERE:
Hilton Cocoa Beach
1550 N. Atlantic Ave.
Cocoa Beach FL 32931
Posted on March 9, 2012, at 11:41 am .
Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio have introduced legislation to designate all of Brevard County as a HUBZone, making small businesses eligible for economic assistance in an area hard hit by the end of the space shuttle program.
The Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act of 2102 aims to help the area around the Kennedy Space Center to help retain its skilled workforce by encouraging the development of small businesses. Approximately 9,000 people were laid off when the shuttle program ended last year. The designation would remain in place until not earlier than Jan. 1, 2020.
According to the HUBZone website:
Small businesses in high-unemployment, low-income areas can receive an economic boost from the HUBZone contracting program. The HUBZone program provides contracting assistance to small businesses located in economically distressed communities, referred to as Historically Underutilized Business Zones, or HUBZones, to promote job growth, capital investment and economic development in these areas, including Indian reservations.
The program’s benefits for HUBZone-certified companies include competitive and sole source contracting, a 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions, as well as subcontracting opportunities. The Federal government has a goal of awarding 3 percent of all dollars for Federal prime contracts to HUBZone-certified concerns.
Posted on February 20, 2012, at 11:10 am .
Florida Today reports on some good news for the hard hit Space Coast:
NASA’s prime contractor for its Orion deep space crew capsule is aiming to launch an early flight test in late 2013 and plans to at least double its work force at Kennedy Space Center between now and then.
In what amounts to a paradigm shift, Lockheed Martin will manufacture Orion spacecraft at the launch site rather than a factory elsewhere — a first for KSC, which still is reeling from the loss of about 9,000 jobs as a result of the shutdown of the space shuttle program.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former shuttle pilot and mission commander, said the Lockheed Martin decision to do production work at the KSC Operations & Checkout Building is a game-changer.
“The No. 1 thing about bringing jobs back here to the Kennedy Space Center is that we bring jobs back to this community — high-tech, good-paying jobs that put American workers back to work in something that they know and love,” Bolden said Friday during a visit to KSC.
Read the full story.
Posted on January 25, 2012, at 3:17 pm .
The StarLab rocket hangs beneath the wing of a Starfighter jet recently during taxi testing. The rocket, about the size of an air-to-air missile, was built by the 4Frontiers company to launch experiments into space. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni M. Woods
By Steven Siceloff
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center
The final pieces of a unique squadron of supersonic fighters arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 19, where they will be reassembled and put to work with a private company aiming to use them for research and microgravity training.
The new planes were part of a group of five F-104 fighters bought by Starfighters Inc. from the Italian Air Force. The company already had four of the aircraft, but that wasn’t enough for the company to pursue a number of different opportunities.
Continue reading ‘Starflighters Expands Fleet at KSC’
Posted on October 28, 2011, at 1:34 pm .
NASA PR — CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Journalists are invited to attend a major announcement of a new partnership between NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and an outside organization that open NASA’s facilities to U.S. commercial space launch service providers, create jobs and help American companies regain leadership in the global space economy. The announcement will take place on Monday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. EDT at NASA Kennedy’s Orbiter Processing Facility-3 and will be carried live on NASA television.
Continue reading ‘NASA, Boeing to Announce KSC Agreement on Monday’
Posted on October 26, 2011, at 1:37 pm .
Florida Today reports that Boeing has finalized plans to assemble its new CST-100 spacecraft at Cape Canaveral:
The Boeing Co. next week will confirm plans to assemble a commercial space capsule in one of the former shuttle hangars at Kennedy Space Center, work that could create more than 500 jobs.
The company on Tuesday emailed invitations to VIP guests for a 10 a.m. Monday event at a hangar that formerly housed the orbiter Discovery.
The invitation from John Elbon, head of Boeing’s space exploration division, promises a “milestone commercial space event.”
Elbon in July told FLORIDA TODAY the company was in discussions with NASA and Space Florida — and other states — about facilities suitable for manufacturing work on its seven-person CST-100 capsule…
Elbon said this summer that the local workforce, combined with proximity to the launch site, were advantages for KSC.
Read the full story.
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