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Spaceport Closer to Lifting Off for Cecil Field

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 May 2007, 18:00 CDT

Cecil Field is a step closer to having space craft launch from its runway following the federal government's review of a study examining its suitability as a spaceport.

With the Federal Aviation Administration's comments on the environmental assessment of the site in hand, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority can move ahead with the licensing process. That will require the FAA to review a number of details about the site, including making sure the site wouldn't violate any federal policies and evaluating safety issues.

"It's all about safety of the uninvolved public," said Hank Price, a spokesman with the FAA.

The FAA has licensed about 170 launches since it started overseeing commercial space flight in 1989, he said, and has never had a public casualty or significant property damage.

No major issues came up during the review, which the Aviation Authority received last week and are in the midst of examining, although as expected there were a number of items that must be addressed or answered, the authority said. The review considered a number of environmental issues, including the affects of noise from the site: Noise is a major issue for the area around Cecil Field, the former military base on the Westside, after nearby residents concerned about the racket from military jets stopped the Navy from returning.

Among the next steps that must be taken before the site could be licensed will be public workshops, which could occur over the summer.

The FAA is driving that part of the process, said Todd Lindner, the airport's administrator of planning and development, but he expects workshops to be held near the end of June or the beginning of July.

Receiving the FAA's comments on the environmental assessment is a major step in a process that began several months ago when the idea of launches at Cecil was first floated.

The authority began considering turning Cecil into a spaceport last year, when the airfield's name surfaced in a Florida Space Authority report that said Cecil Field is "the best airport for aircraft-like launch vehicles." The spacecraft used there would take off horizontally rather than vertically.

At that time, it looked like the Space Authority would select some site to serve as the state's first commercial spaceport, a facility that would handle horizontal flights for tourists and other commercial purposes. While Cape Canaveral has long been the home of the nation's space-related enterprises, the space center there comes with a raft of restrictions on private operations, limiting its appeal to businesses.

Other states have been quick to jump on that opening, with New Mexico and other states moving to set up their own launch facilities.

Meanwhile, Florida's efforts appeared to have stalled, with changes in the structure of the state's space agency -- which is reorientating itself after being combined with several other agencies last year -- taking precedent. This led the Aviation Authority to strike out on its own rather than waiting for the state to lead them into space.

"That could have delayed the process," said authority spokesman Michael Stewart.

The state is still interested in the site, though, with the director of the reformed space agency visiting Cecil Field twice, most recently last week.

Over the next four to six weeks, the Authority will address the FAA's comments on the environmental assessment, Lindner said, with an eye toward getting a license issued sometime in the next year.

"There appears to be no deal breakers," Lindner said, "no major barriers. They indicated we should consider starting the formal licensing process."

Source: The Florida Times-Union

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