Dusting off a site that hasn't been used in 11 years, Space Florida won approval to operate Space Launch Complex 46 for commercial liftoffs.
With the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration, Space Florida will use the Cape Canaveral facility to pursue private launch commitments at SLC-46. Officials said the site could accommodate launches within 12 months of a formal customer commitment.
This is great news for Florida, said Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp. Commercial customers now have an additional option for launch from our nations premier spaceport. This announcement just reinforces the fact that our state is rapidly facing the emerging space market and is ready for business.
Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin and ATK announced their intention to return the Athena launch vehicle to the marketplace. Promotional materials put out by both companies list Florida as one of four potential launch sites.
In February, Space Florida received the real property license for SLC-46 from the U.S. Air Force. At that time, a joint-use agreement was also signed by the Navy, which shares utilization of the property for occasional testing exercises.
The last active use of SLC-46 was in 1999 when RocSat 1 was launched on an Athena I rocket.
To date, corrosion control has been conducted on the mobile service tower at SLC-46. A timeline for additional launch complex infrastructure build-out will be determined once a customer commitment is received.
We are very pleased with the speed at which this license was approved, said Mark Bontrager, Space Florida's vice president of Spaceport Operations. Having a positive working partnership with the FAA -- as well as the U.S. Air Force and Navy -- made this possible. We look forward to readying the site for launch.
"The FAA Launch Authorization is an important step forward that will allow Space Florida to proceed with their plans to diversify and strengthen the Space Coast economy," said Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
