November 16, 2014

MEI Wins Air Force Contract for Hosted Payload Work (Source: MEI)
Millennium Engineering and Integration has been awarded a prime contract under the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) program to provide a rapid and flexible means for the U.S. Government to acquire commercial hosting capabilities for Government payloads. MEI will help the Air Force with alternative ways to deploy space-based capabilities and to standardize the processes and interfaces for placing dedicated military capabilities aboard commercial satellites. The multi-award contract has a combined value of nearly $500M. (11/10)

FAA AST Official Joins MEI (Source: MEI)
Millennium Engineering and Integration has named Alfred Wassel as its new Vice President and General Manager, Integrated Systems Business Unit. Al replaces Mr. Ron Ten Haken who has led the Integrated Business Unit team to new heights in revenue, new customers, and new capability over the last three years. Mr. Wassel, comes to Millennium’s team from his position of Program Manager for the FAA Commercial Space Transportation office. (11/10)

ULA Says Not Yet on Reusable Rockets (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno last week reiterated a promise to transform ULA into a more affordable and nimble launch provider as it braces for increased competition from SpaceX. But ULA won't mimic SpaceX's focus on developing reusable rockets any time soon. Bruno said reusable rockets' time will come, but it's not here yet.

"For the near-term, expendable (rocket flight) is going to be the most practical and cost-effective access to space," he said. Why? Bruno said firing engines to control a rocket's flight back to Earth, as SpaceX is now trying to do with its Falcon 9 booster, wastes fuel that could help deliver payloads to orbit. "That's how rocket engineers see the world," he said. "That's all energy you could have used to put a bigger payload in the same orbit, or the same payload further up." (11/15)

Whitesides Vows to Stay the Course, Defends Virgin Galactic’s Approach to Safety (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides reiterated the company’s pledge to move forward with complete construction of the second SpaceShipTwo and begin testing next year. Whitesides also defended the company’s safety procedures and culture in an Los Angeles Times interview. Unfortunately, his comments didn’t really address the actual concerns people have over safety. Click here. (11/15) 

Georgia Legal Quirk Puts Aerospace Engineers in Catch 22 (Source:
Aerospace engineers in Georgia face a no-win legal situation that could be hampering growth of the aviation industry. A legislative committee studying ways to bolster flight-related jobs heard testimony Wednesday about the legal quirk. Georgia law requires anyone designing planes, helicopters, rockets or even their major repairs to be professionally licensed by the state.

But the FAA oversees the operation of aircraft, so the state stopped giving licensing exams more than a decade ago. Aerospace engineers who want a state license have no way to get one unless they opt for a general-engineering test on topics like concrete, soil erosion and building ventilation. Florida is the only state that exempts aerospace engineers from the legal requirement to be licensed, and that likely had its origins in the NASA-related work at Cape Canaveral.

Editor's Note: In 2003, the Florida Engineering Society supported legislation in Tallahassee aimed to prevent non-licensed engineers from using "engineer" in their titles. The aerospace industry objected and obtained an exemption allowing its employees to be identified as engineers despite not having professional licenses. The exemptions are included in Ch. 471.003 and 471.031, Florida Statutes. (11/15)

Georgia, the Next Great Space State? (Source: Savannah Now)
Georgia is a great aerospace state with over 800 companies and 88,000 workers in some aspect of the business. We are a world leader in aerospace exports and have many of the world’s leading aerospace companies. When analyzing these capabilities, however, we find that our strength is in the aeronautics side of the ledger, but we also have great assets and capabilities on the astronautics side that have not been explored, developed or marketed.

Most Georgians don’t know or remember that in 1960, when NASA was looking for a location for the nation’s launch facility, Georgia was on the short list. But NASA picked Cape Canaveral. What has happened to the area surrounding Cape Canaveral since 1960? It was a sparsely populated ribbon of sand with alligators, sea grass, mom and pop businesses and 17,000 people in the entire county when it was chosen by NASA.

Today, it is a thriving, developed area with high-tech businesses, homes, churches, shopping, highly educated people in high paying jobs, a nation-leading tourist trade and 700,000 people. That could have been Georgia. In the 1960s, the largest rocket engine was tested in Camden County and we made history then. Let’s make history again by developing a world-class spaceport that will create a competitive advantage for Georgia to become the leader in the aerospace marketplace. Click here. (11/14)

Call for Papers for 43rd Space Congress in Cape Canaveral (Source: CCTS)
The Canaveral Council of Technical Societies (CCTS) is accepting technical papers for the 43rd Space Congress, to be held on April 28-30, 2015 in Cape Canaveral. The theme for this Space Congress is "A Showcase of Aviation, Space, Technology, Logistics and Manufacturing," celebrating our area's leadership in aerospace and aeronautics.

The CCTS is seeking presentations on technologies, logistics and manufacturing infrastructure, and workforce skills that support the development, processing and delivery of air and space vehicles. This call invites persons wishing to present to provide us with a 100-200 word abstract by December 15, 2014, for consideration. Click here. (11/13)

Space Vehicle Failure Brings Sarasota Man Back Down to Earth (Source: Herald Tribune)
Within hours of the catastrophic failure of the world’s first emerging space tourist vehicle, Miguel Iturmendi was working his sources at Virgin Galactic, demanding his $200,000 back. Nearly a decade of waiting, and in a flash, in the Halloween sky above California’s Mojave Desert, it was over.

As a paying customer who’d made a six-figure ticket reservation, in cash, back in January 2005, Iturmendi was a frequent visitor to Virgin Galactic’s headquarters, and he got to know its partners nearby at Scaled Composites, charged with designing and building the flying machine.

But for the 43-year-old Sarasota resident, the Oct. 31 accident that resulted in the destruction of SpaceShip Two — designed to ferry tourists to a height of 60 miles for a five-minute, weightless, panoramic glimpse of Earth — was merely the final straw that inspired his request for a refund. “Believe it or not,” says Iturmendi, “my biggest concern was not safety. My main reason for walking away is the contract. They can take that escrow money and apply it to anything for any reason. (11/15)

Crisis and Context for Virgin Galactic (Source: Huffington Post)
Richard Branson had it right when he complained about people who knew nothing about the crash of SpaceShipTwo diving in front of cameras to analyze what must have gone wrong in the Mojave Desert. Welcome, Sir Richard, to the "Fiasco Vortex." The Fiasco Vortex is a public relations virus where immediately upon a major news event, pundits spontaneously emerge to declare the crisis to have been mismanaged and the principal -- in this case Branson's space venture -- dead in the water.

To be clear -- commenting on crises and stirring debate is an industry. After all, you only get to go on TV if you can feed the Vortex either with allegations of mismanagement or hints that the principal knew something very sinister all along and covered it up. Not so fast... Most crises come with assets and liabilities, advantages and disadvantages, and the SpaceShipTwo tragedy is no exception. Much of crisis management is about context, or the circumstances surrounding the event. Click here. (11/15)

DirecTV 14 Set for December 4 Launch (Source: Broadband TV News)
Arianespace’s sixth Ariane 5 for launch in 2014 is now ready to receive its two satellite passengers after the vehicle was moved to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building in French Guiana. DirecTV 14 is a high-capacity spacecraft that will use Ka-band and the new “Reverse” DBS band to expand HD and other new consumer services. This satellite will provide service for users across the US (including Hawaii and Alaska) and Puerto Rico. (11/15)

Weatherman: Orion Effort Will Come Full Circle with Test Flight (Source: Florida Today)
In less than three weeks, get ready to watch a piece of history from your own backyard. While the Space Coast has served as the backdrop to hundreds of launches, Lockheed Martin’s EFT-1 Orion test flight, scheduled for Dec. 4, may be one of the most historic launches to lift off here for a number of reasons. Orion marked the beginning of spacecraft assembly and checkout operations for our community.

A team of aerospace advocates in 2005, led locally by the Economic Development Commission, brought Orion to the Space Coast and mitigated one of the worst economic challenges the Space Coast has ever faced. The Vision for Space Exploration detailed a bold new mission, which included landing humans on the moon, paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond. It also meant the loss of thousands of Space Coast jobs after the Space Shuttle's retirement.

At the heart of the win strategy was the notion of capitalizing on Florida’s strengths, including multibillion-dollar infrastructure, a highly technical workforce, and making our local resources easy to integrate into NASA’s new plan. The notion of increasing and expanding our services made its way to the top of our pitch. To capture these services, in tandem with launches, would bring an entirely new dynamic and new economic opportunity to the local aerospace community. Click here. (11/16)

Let's Take Care of Our OWN Planet Before Messing About in Space (Source: Mirror)
Can you believe that 300 ­million miles from Earth, a craft called Philae has landed on a comet travelling at 24,600 miles an hour? A task, scientists say, that’s equivalent to a fly trying to land on a speeding bullet. So, high-fives all round at the European Space Agency. Perhaps because no one else was even trying to land on a comet. After all, what’s the point?

Spending all that money chasing a speeding lump of rock halfway around the universe to land on it, take a few pictures and then die. I know it wasn’t supposed to die but what are the chances of such an impossible mission being 100% successful? Ten years’ work and billions of pounds so a few scientists can slap each other on the back and marvel at their little place in the history books.

I just don’t see how the human race actually benefits from knowing any of that stuff. It’s not going to save us from ourselves, is it? I mean, here we are on this miraculous planet, with the gift of sustainable life and all its beauty and we don’t respect it. We continue to procreate in record numbers, plundering the planet to keep everyone alive. (11/15)

ULA Gathers Russian Engines While Rushing New Model (Source: Bloomberg)
United Launch Alliance is stockpiling Russian-made rocket engines even as it speeds development of a homegrown version. ULA expects to receive eight Russian-built RD-180 engines in 2015, three more than planned, after getting five motors this year, Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno said. (11/14)

Russia Plans to Launch Remote Earth Probe Satellites (Source: Itar-Tass)
Russia plans to launch two satellites next year for remote earth probing. The satellites, Resource-P 3, which is under construction now, according to schedule, and Kanopus-V 2, are planned to be launched next year, deputy head of the Roscosmos federal space agency Mikhail Khailov told a conference on remote earth probing on Friday. (11/14)

ULA, Blue Origin Look for Silver Lining in Russian Rocket Woes (Source: SEN)
The announcement that startup space company Blue Origin was teaming with industry giant United Launch Alliance to develop a new rocket motor seems prescient and pre-emptive in light of renewed U.S. concerns about Russian rocket motors. Click here. (11/14)

Russia's Energomash Dreams Up Reusable Rocket Engine Design (Source: Moscow Times)
Russia's NPO Energomash, one of the world's leading rocket engine manufacturers, has cooked up an ambitious plan to make its engines reusable up to ten times. Reusability is the buzzword of the modern space industry. Born of exorbitant Cold War budgets, space programs across the globe have struggled over the last two decades to survive with less funding — and reusability is the key to radically cutting down costs.

Energomash has devised a novel, albeit limited, solution to the problem of returning rocket parts safely to Earth. The company proposes housing its RD-191 engine in a capsule attached to the bottom of Russia's Angara rockets. After the engine has exhausted its fuel, the capsule will detach and fall back to Earth, protected by a heat shield on one side.

A parachute will deploy once the capsule hits the atmosphere, allowing the engine to land safely either with the help of a special airbag or small rockets to slow its descent. The added weight of this recovery system would knock 2.6 percent off of the Angara rocket's payload capacity, or the maximum weight it can lift to a given altitude above the earth. (11/14)

ViaSat Hopes To Lure Rural Subscribers with Unlimited Bandwidth (Source: Space News)
Satellite broadband hardware and services provider ViaSat outlined its strategy for penetrating more deeply into DSL- and cable-served areas once its ViaSat-2 satellite is in orbit, a strategy it has begun to test now in low-demand areas.

As is the case with its competitor, the EchoStar-owned Hughes Network Systems’ HughesNet service, ViaSat’s Exede consumer satellite broadband growth is slowing as high-demand areas fill up the beams allocated to them. ViaSat has said in the past it is determined not to open up new capacity on these beams by reducing service quality, meaning the only path to growth in the next two years will be luring customers in regions where demand has been lowest — the rural areas of the U.S. (11/14)

ViaSat-2 Launch Contract Goes to SpaceX as Arianespace Sits Out Competition (Source: Space News)
Arianespace declined to submit a bid for launching ViaSat-2 because ViaSat Inc. had stipulated a mid-2016 launch date. Arianespace has said for months that its heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket is fully booked into 2017, with a couple of possible spots late in 2016. Ariane 5 typically launches two satellites at a time, a heavier payload in the upper berth and a lighter one in the lower position.

ViaSat-2, an all-Ka-band satellite built to add capacity to ViaSat’s consumer broadband service in North America, would be for Ariane 5’s upper position as it is expected to weigh about as much as ViaSat-1, which was 6,740 kilograms at launch. SpaceX won the competition with a bid for its Falcon Heavy rocket, to be introduced in 2015, despite the company’s own crowded manifest. (11/14)

Manufacturing Issues Plague James Webb Space Telescope (Source: Space News)
Manufacturing difficulties plagued major elements of the James Webb Space Telescope this year, forcing prime contractor Northrop Grumman to rebuild key structural elements declared unfit for flight while continuing to grapple with a persistently problematic cryogenic compressor needed to keep JWST’s infrared sensors cold. Despite the latest setbacks, launch remains on track for October 2018. (11/14)

Capitalizing on Stunning Success of Philae (Source: Space News)
Landing the Philae probe on the surface of a comet 500 million kilometers from Earth after a 10-year voyage that included 30 months of satellite hibernation is a made-in-Europe masterstroke — all the more striking given how few thought it would work. Success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan — an aphorism that might explain the absence of many high-ranking political officials at the various landing events.

The odds, after all, were that Philae would fail. Political calculus would argue against taking the risk of associating too closely with it. The challenge for Europe’s space sector, and especially for the 20-nation ESA, is how to translate the momentum generated by the success into the kind of political capital that funds budgets and seeds the ground for future Philaes. ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain, who is retiring in 2015, could not have dreamed of better exit music for himself, or better timing for the agency. (11/14)

Habitable Exomoons Born in Cosmic Collisions (Source: New Scientist)
From Endor in Star Wars to Pandora in Avatar, habitable moons are science fiction staples. Trouble is, they appear hard to make in the real world. But hit-and-run accidents involving planets could create moons able to hold on to an atmosphere.

Previous studies suggested that a world must be at least 0.2 times Earth's mass to sustain an atmosphere. If moons form out of the dust disc surrounding a planet left over from the planet's formation, then it seems only planets 10 times the mass of Jupiter will end up with moons heavy enough to have air. Click here. (11/14)

Two Travelers From Far Beyond Neptune Return Home (Source: Science News)
Two visitors from the edge of the solar system appear to be returning to their birthplace. One is made of rock, the other slathered in organic compounds; neither looks like other bodies from the Oort cloud, the icy debris field that envelops the solar system. The objects may be relics from the solar system’s formative years, thrown to the Oort cloud while the planets were still forming over 4 billion years ago.

One body, designated C/2013 P2 Pan-STARRS, is making a rare appearance as it loops around the sun once every 51 million years. Karen Meech, a planetary scientist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, and colleagues discovered the object in August 2013, when it was about three times as far from the sun as Earth is. (11/14)

A Distant Planet May Lurk Far Beyond Neptune (Source: Science News)
Out beyond Neptune, the solar system resembles the deep ocean: dark, remote and largely unexplored. To an Earth-bound observer, even the brightest objects, such as Pluto, are 4,000 times as faint as what the human eye can see. An undiscovered planet could easily lurk out there unnoticed, a possible fossil from a time when the giant planets jockeyed for position 4 billion years ago, scattering planets and asteroids in their wake.

But even the largest telescopes would struggle to find such a faint spot of light. Most likely, the clues would be entangled in the distorted orbits of faraway ice boulders tumbling around the sun. Astronomers Chad Trujillo and Scott Sheppard provided a hint about how such a world might reveal itself last March when they announced the discovery of a 450-kilometer-wide dwarf planet just outside the Kuiper belt.

Their find, designated 2012 VP113, is on a course that loops around the sun in a vastly elongated orbit far from the known planets. It has thousands of neighbors but shares its odd trajectory only with Sedna, another dwarf planet, discovered in 2003. “These objects couldn’t get out there with what we currently know.” Something had to drag the two dwarf planets from their original, smaller orbits. Except nothing is close or massive enough to take the credit. At least, nothing astronomers are aware of. Click here. (11/14)

A Still Mysterious Solar System (Source: Science News)
When Christopher Crockett suggested his Planet X story, it was the aura of mystery that hooked me. First, there is the surprise that parts of our own solar system remain opaque, even as we find planets around distant stars and see the cosmic radiation from the universe’s first light. How could our blind spot be so large? Second, there is a real mystery here: Scientists don’t understand what caused the strange, loopy orbits of two dwarf planets beyond the Kuiper belt. In the past, attempts to explain orbital anomalies led to the discoveries of Neptune and Pluto.

Whether or not a Planet X exists, the puzzle, like a good mystery, delights the mind. But better than any novel, the puzzle’s solution has the potential to reveal something new and unexpected about our solar system. The appeal is that “tomorrow they could discover something that changes everything.” Eight planets or nine. Newtonian physics or Einstein’s general relativity. What’s known or what we can only guess at. (11/14)

Uranus Might Be Full of Surprises (Source: Washington Post)
Scientists used to think that things were pretty chill over in the south hemisphere of Uranus. In fact, they thought it was one of the calmest regions of any of the gas giants. But in analyzing images taken nearly three decades ago by NASA's Voyager-2 spacecraft, researchers think they've found a kerfuffle of activity — which might indicate that there's something unusual about the planet's interior.

Erich Karkoshchka believes that Uranus's southern hemisphere rotates in a way never before seen in gas giants. A gas planet's thick atmosphere, filled with clouds, typically shows the same rate of rotation at the top and bottom. But on Uranus, it seems, the southern hemisphere is cycling much more quickly than up north — as much as 15 percent faster. (11/14)

Rosetta Lander is Dead — At Least for Now (Source: Washington Post)
After just over two days of working tirelessly, the Rosetta spacecraft's lander -- the indomitable Philae -- finally went to sleep. The probe stopped working at 7:36pm Eastern Time -- just before it was schedule to lose touch with mission control anyway. When Philae landed, it bounced off the ground several times instead of anchoring. While it initially hit right on its target landing spot, it ended up in a shadier area -- and its solar panels didn't get enough light.

Scientists decided to do as much research as possible with Philae's borrowed time, and even pulled a daring move to try to reposition the probe. Mission control ordered Philae to move its landing gear as a sort of arm, pushing it into a new position. It moved, but the battery was too close to dead for this repositioning to make a difference.

Philae sent back data until its final moments. In the coming hours and days, the Rosetta team will interpret this information to learn more about the comet. We may even know more later tonight. "Prior to falling silent, the lander was able to transmit all science data gathered during the First Science Sequence," lander manager Stephan Ulamec said. (11/14)

China Launches New Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
A Long March-2C rocket carrying the Yaogan-23 remote sensing satellite blasted off from the launch pad at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Nov. 14, 2014. The satellite, which was launched at 2:53 a.m. Saturday, will be used for scientific experiments, natural resource surveying, estimating crop yields and disaster relief. The launch marks the 198th flight of the Long March rocket series. (11/15)

Jesuit Astronomer Confesses Youthful Error (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
On Thursday, Brother Guy Consolmagno gave a talk at the University of Arizona about how scientists embrace contradictions of their findings in the interest of furthering knowledge. On Friday, Consolmagno tested that premise as he presented evidence that contradicted his own 40-year-old conclusions and those of a NASA space mission that characterized the giant asteroid Vesta as an intact protoplanet just two years ago. Click here. (11/14) http://tucson.com/news/blogs/scientific-bent/jesuit-astronomer-confesses-youthful-error/article_698313a8-3b9b-5e72-a6f7-54a79e483aa4.html

Separation of Church and Space? (Source: UDayton)
Whether you believe the Philae probe's landing on a speeding comet is a monumental advance or a colossal waste might depend on your religion, according to a University of Dayton researcher. Many in the space community see the landing as a critical step in colonizing the solar system, such as NASA Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green who said, "I truly believe that a single-planet species will not survive long. It's our destiny to move off this planet."

Yet Evangelical Protestants are much surer Jesus will return in the next 40 years than that humans will make significant strides in space exploration, according to research by University of Dayton political science assistant professor Joshua Ambrosius. "Evangelicals have been hesitant to recognize the discoveries of modern science — from evolutionary origins to climate change," Ambrosius said. "The data show that this overall attitude extends into space." (11/14)

GAO's Pace to Space (Source: AstroWatch)
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in July that warned of cost and schedule risks to NASA’s newly designed Space Launch System (SLS). That wasn’t the first time this year when NASA received criticism from GAO. In May, the office slammed the agency’s cost estimating for SLS and the Orion spacecraft. Despite the fact that recommendations detailed in the reports are not mandatory for NASA, the agency “is required to respond to the Congress on how it plans to address the recommendations.”

GAO will also decide on the Sierra Nevada Corp.’s protest over NASA’s commercial crew contracts. The company’s bid for crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS) was rejected by NASA in September, when the agency chose Boeing and SpaceX.

“The first thing to know is that a protest is a litigation. This is completely different from GAO’s role as an audit agency,” said Ralph White, GAO’s Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law. “There will be no audit report issued from this, as is issued by the audit teams. There will be a legal decision on the outcome of the arguments raised.” GAO has 100 calendar days to resolve the case, so the decision must be made by Jan. 5, 2015. (11/14)

Hawaii Astronomer Shares $3 Million Breakthrough Prize (Source: U. Hawaii)
UH astronomer John Tonry has been named a recipient of the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, rather than slowing as had been long assumed. He shares the award with the other members of the High-Redshift Supernova Search Team and with members of the Supernova Cosmology Project.In all, 50 astronomers played a role in the research, and each will get a piece of the $3 million prize, which will be split between two research teams. (11/14)

Mining Entrepreneur Julian Malnic Joins Deep Space Industries’ Board (Source: DSI)
Deep Space Industries is pleased to announce the election of Julian Malnic, accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, to its Board.  Julian is a recognized leader in the global mining industry, having founded both Nautilus Minerals Inc. and Direct Nickel, an emerging nickel producer with a revolutionary and dramatically lower cost extraction technology. In his new role with DSI, Mr. Malnic will add invaluable experience, perspective and drive to the Board of Directors. (11/13)

New Map Shows Frequency of Asteroid Impacts (Source: NASA JPL)
 map released today by NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Program reveals that small asteroids frequently enter and disintegrate in the Earth's atmosphere with random distribution around the globe. Released to the scientific community, the map visualizes data gathered by U.S. government sensors from 1994 to 2013. Click here. (11/14)

NASA Needs a Reality Show (Source: Gwinnett)
The human race achieves yet another historic milestone in the exploration of space, and all most of these humans care about is boobs, butts and f-bombs from other media headlines. So it got me to thinking: Maybe we’re going about space exploration all wrong. What we need to finally get the world interested is a reality show. We stock it with housewives and Kardashians, sit back and watch the ratings soar — and the money roll in.

Think about it: the Kim Kardashian video game — which lets you pretend to live a celebrity life — made $43 million in just three months. People actually paid good, hard-earned money to pretend to buy a vacation home or dine at a classy restaurant. In contrast, NASA warned recently that budget shortfalls could put cargo shipments to the International Space Station in jeopardy.

How fast do you think we could get the funding for a rocket U-Haul to the ISS if, instead of astronauts in need of food and water, we had a couple of Kardashians up there in need of make-up and jewelry? Perhaps a housewife in need of a facelift? I guess we could go with pretty much any self-absorbed “celebrity” in need of attention. (11/14)

Oklahoma Space Alliance President: Spaceport Has Substantial Value for State (Source: NewsOK)
The U.S. military developed Oklahoma's spaceport site during World War II. The Strategic Air Command used it later. The site acquired by Oklahoma for $1 is valued today at more than $900 million. The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) negotiated an agreement with the Department of Defense, which uses the facilities jointly with general aviation.

Defense pays 90 percent of airport maintenance and operations. Approximately 35,000 operations occurred last year. The site is a full-function airport with active FAA tower and fire and rescue facilities. With the support from the Department of Defense, OSIDA’s funding is far less than that required to operate a similar airport.

OSIDA established spaceport capabilities, including operation control center, FAA-approved spaceport license and FAA- approved horizontal launch corridor. Spacecraft capable of using the Oklahoma Air and Spaceport are being developed. They should be in production within the next two years. The spaceport is well prepared to support flights of these spacecraft. (11/14)